Stabilization of weak ferromagnetism by strong magnetic response to epitaxial strain in multiferroic BiFeO3

Hemant Dixit; Jun Hee Lee; Jaron T. Krogel; Satoshi Okamoto; Valentino R. Cooper

doi:10.1038/srep12969

Stabilization of weak ferromagnetism by strong magnetic response to epitaxial strain in multiferroic BiFeO₃

Hemant Dixit, Jun Hee Lee, Jaron T. Krogel, Satoshi Okamoto, Valentino R. Cooper

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

18 Scopus citations

Abstract

Multiferroic BiFeO₃ exhibits excellent magnetoelectric coupling critical for magnetic information processing with minimal power consumption. However, the degenerate nature of the easy spin axis in the (111) plane presents roadblocks for real world applications. Here, we explore the stabilization and switchability of the weak ferromagnetic moments under applied epitaxial strain using a combination of first-principles calculations and group-theoretic analyses. We demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic moment vector can be stabilized along unique crystallographic directions ([110] and [-110]) under compressive and tensile strains. A direct coupling between the anisotropic antiferrodistortive rotations and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moria interactions drives the stabilization of the weak ferromagnetism. Furthermore, energetically competing C- and G-type magnetic orderings are observed at high compressive strains, suggesting that it may be possible to switch the weak ferromagnetism "on" and "off" under the application of strain. These findings emphasize the importance of strain and antiferrodistortive rotations as routes to enhancing induced weak ferromagnetism in multiferroic oxides.

Original language	English
Article number	12969
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep12969
State	Published - Aug 6 2015

Funding

Research supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES), Materials Sciences and Engineering Division (J.H.L., S.O., H.D. and V.R.C.), and the Office of Science Early Career Research Program (V.R.C.). This research used resources of the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center, which is supported by the Office of Science of the US Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. Research by J.T.K. (Nexus workflows) was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE office of Science User Facility.

Funders	Funder number
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Science
Basic Energy Sciences
Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering	DE-AC02-05CH11231

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abstract = "Multiferroic BiFeO3 exhibits excellent magnetoelectric coupling critical for magnetic information processing with minimal power consumption. However, the degenerate nature of the easy spin axis in the (111) plane presents roadblocks for real world applications. Here, we explore the stabilization and switchability of the weak ferromagnetic moments under applied epitaxial strain using a combination of first-principles calculations and group-theoretic analyses. We demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic moment vector can be stabilized along unique crystallographic directions ([110] and [-110]) under compressive and tensile strains. A direct coupling between the anisotropic antiferrodistortive rotations and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moria interactions drives the stabilization of the weak ferromagnetism. Furthermore, energetically competing C- and G-type magnetic orderings are observed at high compressive strains, suggesting that it may be possible to switch the weak ferromagnetism {"}on{"} and {"}off{"} under the application of strain. These findings emphasize the importance of strain and antiferrodistortive rotations as routes to enhancing induced weak ferromagnetism in multiferroic oxides.",

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AU - Dixit, Hemant

AU - Lee, Jun Hee

AU - Krogel, Jaron T.

AU - Okamoto, Satoshi

AU - Cooper, Valentino R.

PY - 2015/8/6

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N2 - Multiferroic BiFeO3 exhibits excellent magnetoelectric coupling critical for magnetic information processing with minimal power consumption. However, the degenerate nature of the easy spin axis in the (111) plane presents roadblocks for real world applications. Here, we explore the stabilization and switchability of the weak ferromagnetic moments under applied epitaxial strain using a combination of first-principles calculations and group-theoretic analyses. We demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic moment vector can be stabilized along unique crystallographic directions ([110] and [-110]) under compressive and tensile strains. A direct coupling between the anisotropic antiferrodistortive rotations and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moria interactions drives the stabilization of the weak ferromagnetism. Furthermore, energetically competing C- and G-type magnetic orderings are observed at high compressive strains, suggesting that it may be possible to switch the weak ferromagnetism "on" and "off" under the application of strain. These findings emphasize the importance of strain and antiferrodistortive rotations as routes to enhancing induced weak ferromagnetism in multiferroic oxides.

AB - Multiferroic BiFeO3 exhibits excellent magnetoelectric coupling critical for magnetic information processing with minimal power consumption. However, the degenerate nature of the easy spin axis in the (111) plane presents roadblocks for real world applications. Here, we explore the stabilization and switchability of the weak ferromagnetic moments under applied epitaxial strain using a combination of first-principles calculations and group-theoretic analyses. We demonstrate that the antiferromagnetic moment vector can be stabilized along unique crystallographic directions ([110] and [-110]) under compressive and tensile strains. A direct coupling between the anisotropic antiferrodistortive rotations and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moria interactions drives the stabilization of the weak ferromagnetism. Furthermore, energetically competing C- and G-type magnetic orderings are observed at high compressive strains, suggesting that it may be possible to switch the weak ferromagnetism "on" and "off" under the application of strain. These findings emphasize the importance of strain and antiferrodistortive rotations as routes to enhancing induced weak ferromagnetism in multiferroic oxides.

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Stabilization of weak ferromagnetism by strong magnetic response to epitaxial strain in multiferroic BiFeO₃

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