Mn3TeO6 – a new multiferroic material with two magnetic substructures

From magnetic susceptibility, dielectric permittivity, electric polarization and specific heat measurements we discover spin‐induced ferroelectricity and magnetoelectric coupling in Mn₃TeO₆ and observe two successive magnetic transitions at low temperatures. A non‐ferroelectric intermediate magnetic state occurs below 23 K and a multiferroic ground state emerges below 21 K. Moreover, Mn₃TeO₆ is a candidate for a multiferroic material where two types of incommensurate spin structures, cycloidal and helical, coexist. Theoretically, both spin substructures may contribute to the macro electric polarization via different mechanisms. This could open new ways of manipulating the ferroelectric polarization in a multiferroic material. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)