Enhancement of polarization and related properties in heteroepitaxially constrained thin films of the ferroelectromagnet, BiFeO3, is reported. Structure analysis indicates that the crystal structure of film is monoclinic in contrast to bulk, which is rhombohedral. The films display a room-temperature spontaneous polarization (50 to 60 microcoulombs per square centimeter) almost an order of magnitude higher than that of the bulk (6.1 microcoulombs per square centimeter). The observed enhancement is corroborated by first-principles calculations and found to originate from a high sensitivity of the polarization to small changes in lattice parameters. The films also exhibit enhanced thickness-dependent magnetism compared with the bulk. These enhanced and combined functional responses in thin film form present an opportunity to create and implement thin film devices that actively couple the magnetic and ferroelectric order parameters.

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Epitaxial BiFeO3 multiferroic thin film heterostructures.

Recent research activities on the linear magnetoelectric (ME) effect?induction of magnetization by an electric field or of polarization by a magnetic field?are reviewed. Beginning with a brief summary of the history of the ME effect since its prediction in 1894, the paper focuses on the present revival of the effect. Two major sources for 'large' ME effects are identified. (i) In composite materials the ME effect is generated as a product property of a magnetostrictive and a piezoelectric compound. A linear ME polarization is induced by a weak ac magnetic field oscillating in the presence of a strong dc bias field. The ME effect is large if the ME coefficient coupling the magnetic and electric fields is large. Experiments on sintered granular composites and on laminated layers of the constituents as well as theories on the interaction between the constituents are described. In the vicinity of electromechanical resonances a ME voltage coefficient of up to 90?V?cm?1?Oe?1 is achieved, which exceeds the ME response of single-phase compounds by 3?5 orders of magnitude. Microwave devices, sensors, transducers and heterogeneous read/write devices are among the suggested technical implementations of the composite ME effect. (ii) In multiferroics the internal magnetic and/or electric fields are enhanced by the presence of multiple long-range ordering. The ME effect is strong enough to trigger magnetic or electrical phase transitions. ME effects in multiferroics are thus 'large' if the corresponding contribution to the free energy is large. Clamped ME switching of electrical and magnetic domains, ferroelectric reorientation induced by applied magnetic fields and induction of ferromagnetic ordering in applied electric fields were observed. Mechanisms favouring multiferroicity are summarized, and multiferroics in reduced dimensions are discussed. In addition to composites and multiferroics, novel and exotic manifestations of ME behaviour are investigated. This includes (i) optical second harmonic generation as a tool to study magnetic, electrical and ME properties in one setup and with access to domain structures; (ii) ME effects in colossal magnetoresistive manganites, superconductors and phosphates of the LiMPO4 type; (iii) the concept of the toroidal moment as manifestation of a ME dipole moment; (iv) pronounced ME effects in photonic crystals with a possibility of electromagnetic unidirectionality. The review concludes with a summary and an outlook to the future development of magnetoelectrics research.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/38/8/R01/pdf

Revival of the Magnetoelectric Effect

Multiferroic magnetoelectric materials, which simultaneously exhibit ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, have recently stimulated a sharply increasing number of research activities for their scientific interest and significant technological promise in the novel multifunctional devices. Natural multiferroic single-phase compounds are rare, and their magnetoelectric responses are either relatively weak or occurs at temperatures too low for practical applications. In contrast, multiferroic composites, which incorporate both ferroelectric and ferri-/ferromagnetic phases, typically yield giant magnetoelectric coupling response above room temperature, which makes them ready for technological applications. This review of mostly recent activities begins with a brief summary of the historical perspective of the multiferroic magnetoelectric composites since its appearance in 1972. In such composites the magnetoelectric effect is generated as a product property of a magnetostrictive and a piezoelectric substance. A...

Multiferroic magnetoelectric composites: Historical perspective, status, and future directions

Understanding the mechanism of ionic transport in organic–inorganic halide perovskites is crucial for the design of future solar cells. Here, Eames et al. undertake a combined experimental and computational study to elucidate the ion conducting species and help rationalize the unusual behaviour observed in these perovskite-based devices.

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Ionic transport in hybrid lead iodide perovskite solar cells

The synthesis, crystal growth, and structural and optoelectronic characterization has been carried out for the perovskite compound CsPbBr3. This compound is a direct band gap semiconductor which meets most of the requirements for successful detection of X- and γ-ray radiation, such as high attenuation, high resistivity, and significant photoconductivity response, with detector resolution comparable to that of commercial, state-of-the-art materials. A structural phase transition which occurs during crystal growth at higher temperature does not seem to affect its crystal quality. Its μτ product for both hole and electron carriers is approximately equal. The μτ product for electrons is comparable to cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) and that for holes is 10 times higher than CZT.

Crystal Growth of the Perovskite Semiconductor CsPbBr3: A New Material for High-Energy Radiation Detection

Spontaneous magnetic moment in BiFeO3–BaTiO3 solid solutions at low temperatures

Following the phenomenological approach of Landau and Lifshitz the existence of linear magnetoelectric effect in antiferromagnetic Cr2O3 was predicted by Dzyaloshinskii which was later experimentally confirmed by Astrov and Folenet al. Magnetoelectric phenomenon has been observed in several single-phase materials in which simultaneous electric and magnetic ordering coexists and in two-phase composites in which the participating phases are the ferroelectric and magnetic. The author’s group has recently undertaken a systematic study of the preparation, characterization and detection of the (ME)H output in a few single-phase materials and two-phase composites. This article describes the magnetoelectric phenomenon in general and recent work carried out in the author’s group.

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Magnetoelectric interaction phenomena in materials

An experimental setup is developed for the measurement of dynamic magnetoelectric effect (ME) in polycrystalline materials, using a time varying DC magnetic field on which an AC magnetic field is superimposed. The experimental data on ME on Bi5FeTi3O15 and a solid solution of (90%)BiFeO3-(10%)BaTiO3 are obtained using this setup. The linear and higher order ME coefficients can be evaluated from the output voltage. The temperature variation of ME data gives additional information corroborating with the data on magnetization.

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An experimental setup for dynamic measurement of magnetoelectric effect

Dielectric and magnetoelectric properties of Bi5FeTi3O15

The electrical properties of polycrystalline Bi6Fe2Ti3O18 are investigated by impedance spectroscopy in the temperature range 30–550°C. The imaginary part of impedance as a function of frequency shows Debye like relaxation. Impedance data are presented in the Nyquist plot which is used to identify an equivalent circuit and the fundamental circuit parameters are determined at different temperatures. The grain and grain-boundary contributions are estimated. The results of bulk a.c. conductivity as a function of temperature and frequency are presented. The activation energies for the a.c. conductivity are calculated. The polaron hopping frequencies are estimated from the a.c. conductivity data.

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S. V. Suryanarayana

Papers

Spontaneous magnetic moment in BiFeO3–BaTiO3 solid solutions at low temperatures

Magnetoelectric interaction phenomena in materials

An experimental setup for dynamic measurement of magnetoelectric effect

Dielectric and magnetoelectric properties of Bi5FeTi3O15

Impedance spectroscopy study of polycrystalline Bi6Fe2Ti3O18