Destruction of spin cycloid in (111)c-oriented BiFeO3 thin films by epitaxial constraint : enhanced polarization and release of latent magnetization

• Main Authors: Bai, Feiming, Wang, Junling, Wuttig, M., Li, Jiefang, Wang, Naigang, Pyatakov, A. P., Zvezdin, A. K., Cross, L. E., Viehland, D.
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Magnetic materials; DRNTU::Engineering::Materials::Microelectronics and semiconductor materials::Thin films
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/91324; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6907
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

In BiFeO3 films, it has been found that epitaxial constraint results in the destruction of a space modulated spin structure. For (111)c films, relative to corresponding bulk crystals, it is shown (i) that the induced magnetization is enhanced at low applied fields; (ii) that the polarization is dramatically enhanced; whereas, (iii) the lattice structure for s111dc films and crystals is nearly identical. Our results evidence that eptiaxial constraint induces a transition between cycloidal and homogeneous antiferromagnetic spin states, releasing a latent antiferromagnetic component locked within the cycloid.