Ferroelectricity and Ferrimagnetism of Hexagonal YbFeO3 Thin Films

Hayato Iida (1) , Takuro Koizumi (1) , Yoshiaki Uesu (1) , Kay Kohn (1) , Naoshi Ikeda (2) , Shigeo Mori (3) , Raphael Haumont (4) , P.-E. Janolin (5) , Jean-Michel Kiat (5) , Mamoru Fukunaga (6) , Yukio Noda (6)

1 Waseda University [Tokyo, Japan]
2 GSNST - Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology [Okayama]
3 Osaka University [Osaka]
4 UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11
5 SPMS - Laboratoire Structures, Propriétés et Modélisation des solides
6 Tohoku University [Sendai]

The coexistence of ferroelectricity and magnetic order in epitaxial hexagonal YbFeO3 (h-YbFeO3) thin films deposited on yttria stabilized zirconia substrates is examined using an impedance analyzer, a second harmonic generation (SHG) microscope, an X-ray diffractometer, a transmission electron microscope and a superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer. The results show that h-YbFeO3 films exhibit ferroelectricity below 350K with threefold translational periodicity along the [110] direction similar to rare earth manganese oxides, and ferrimagnetism with a four-up and two-down spin configuration of Fe+3 and Yb+3 ions along the c-axis at low temperatures. In addition, a possibility of new ferroelectric phases with an electronic origin induced by the magnetic ordering is discussed based upon SHG and D-E hysteresis measurements.

Mots clés: multiferroic; ferroelectricity; ferrimagnetism; thin film; hexagonal YbFeO3; dielectric constant; second harmonic generation

Domaines: Matériaux

Hayato Iida, Takuro Koizumi, Yoshiaki Uesu, Kay Kohn, Naoshi Ikeda, et al.. Ferroelectricity and Ferrimagnetism of Hexagonal YbFeO3 Thin Films. Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 2012, 81 (2), ⟨10.1143/JPSJ.81.024719⟩. ⟨hal-02186450⟩