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

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 ferromagnetis

SUBMITTER: Dixit H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4526888 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature