Magnetodielectric coupling in MnCr2O4 spinel

We have investigated the magnetic and dielectric properties of polycrystalline samples of the spinel MnCr₂O₄. Below the ferrimagnetic ordering temperature at T_N∼43 K, both magnetization and dielectric measurements show signatures of the onset of a conical structure at T_s∼17 K and a lock-in temperature at T_f∼14 K. These values are similar to those previously reported for single-crystal samples, where the spiral structure is short-range ordered (SRO) at low temperatures. The application of magnetic field suppresses the dielectric anomaly at T_f indicating that the coherence length of the ordering increases. MnCr₂O₄ exhibits a symmetrical magnetodielectric response between T_f and T_s that scales with the square of the magnetization. This suggests that the magnetodielectric coupling originates from the P²M² term in the free energy expansion. The magnetodielectric response becomes asymmetric with respect to field below T_f.