Giant Spin-Driven Ferroelectric Polarization in BiFeO3 at Room Temperature

Jun Hee Lee, Randy S. Fishman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

The spin-driven polarizations of type-I multiferroics are veiled by the preexisting ferroelectric (FE) polarization. Using first-principles calculations combined with a spin model, we uncover two hidden but huge spin-driven polarizations in the room-temperature multiferroic BiFeO3. One is associated with the global inversion symmetry broken by a FE distortion, and the other is associated with the local inversion symmetry broken by an antiferrodistortive octahedral rotation. Comparison with recent neutron scatterings reveals tha first polarization reaches ∼3.0 μC/cm2, which is larger than in any other multiferroic material. Our exhaustive study paves a way to uncover the various magnetoelectric couplings that generate hidden spin-driven polarizations in other type-I multiferroics.

Original languageEnglish
Article number207203
JournalPhysical Review Letters
Volume115
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 11 2015

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