Switching the spin cycloid in BiFeO3 with an electric field

Peter Meisenheimer (), Guy Moore, Shiyu Zhou, Hongrui Zhang, Xiaoxi Huang, Sajid Husain, Xianzhe Chen, Lane W. Martin, Kristin A. Persson, Sinéad Griffin, Lucas Caretta, Paul Stevenson () and Ramamoorthy Ramesh
Additional contact information
Peter Meisenheimer: University of California
Guy Moore: University of California
Shiyu Zhou: Brown University
Hongrui Zhang: University of California
Xiaoxi Huang: University of California
Sajid Husain: University of California
Xianzhe Chen: University of California
Lane W. Martin: University of California
Kristin A. Persson: University of California
Sinéad Griffin: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Lucas Caretta: Brown University
Paul Stevenson: Northeastern University
Ramamoorthy Ramesh: University of California

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-8

Abstract: Abstract Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) is a multiferroic material that exhibits both ferroelectricity and canted antiferromagnetism at room temperature, making it a unique candidate in the development of electric-field controllable magnetic devices. The magnetic moments in BiFeO3 are arranged into a spin cycloid, resulting in unique magnetic properties which are tied to the ferroelectric order. Previous understanding of this coupling has relied on average, mesoscale measurements. Using nitrogen vacancy-based diamond magnetometry, we observe the magnetic spin cycloid structure of BiFeO3 in real space. This structure is magnetoelectrically coupled through symmetry to the ferroelectric polarization and this relationship is maintained through electric field switching. Through a combination of in-plane and out-of-plane electrical switching, coupled with ab initio studies, we have discovered that the epitaxy from the substrate imposes a magnetoelastic anisotropy on the spin cycloid, which establishes preferred cycloid propagation directions. The energy landscape of the cycloid is shaped by both the ferroelectric degree of freedom and strain-induced anisotropy, restricting the spin spiral propagation vector to changes to specific switching events.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47232-5

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