Single-domain multiferroic BiFeO3 films.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 27581797.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/ncomms12712 and PMC identifier 5025802.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
The strong coupling between antiferromagnetism and ferroelectricity at room temperature found in BiFeO3 generates high expectations for the design and development of technological devices with novel functionalities. However, the multi-domain nature of the material tends to nullify the properties of interest and complicates the thorough understanding of the mechanisms that are responsible for those properties. Here we report the realization of a BiFeO3 material in thin film form with single-domain behaviour in both its magnetism and ferroelectricity: the entire film shows its antiferromagnetic axis aligned along the crystallographic b axis and its ferroelectric polarization along the c axis. With this we are able to reveal that the canted ferromagnetic moment due to the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is parallel to the a axis. Furthermore, by fabricating a Co/BiFeO3 heterostructure, we demonstrate that the ferromagnetic moment of the Co film does couple directly to the canted moment of BiFeO3.