磁场对多铁性材料 CdCr2 S4介电性质的影响

多铁性材料在磁相变温度附近的介电异常归因于系统中铁磁有序和弛豫铁电性的共存。本文基于Heisen-berg模型对铁磁子系统进行分析,使用最近邻自旋对关联表征磁子系统的磁有序程度。磁性质通过磁电耦合效应修正磁性离子因非中心位移而形成的极化簇的取向激活能,实现对介电性质的影响。外加磁场通过提高系统的磁有序程度而使得介电异常更为显著,磁相变温度附近的磁电容效应是磁场对介电性质影响的最好检验。     

Observation of coupled magnetic and electric domains

Ferroelectromagnets are an interesting group of compounds that complement purely (anti-)ferroelectric or (anti-)ferromagnetic materials--they display simultaneous electric and magnetic order. With this coexistence they supplement materials in which magnetization can be induced by an electric field and electrical polarization by a magnetic field, a property which is termed the magnetoelectric effect. Aside from its fundamental importance, the mutual control of electric and magnetic properties is of significant interest for applications in magnetic storage media and 'spintronics'. The coupled electric and magnetic ordering in ferroelectromagnets is accompanied by the formation of domains and domain walls. However, such a cross-correlation between magnetic and electric domains has so far not been observed. Here we report spatial maps of coupled antiferromagnetic and ferroelectric domains in YMnO3, obtained by imaging with optical second harmonic generation. The coupling originates from an interaction between magnetic and electric domain walls, which leads to a configuration that is dominated by the ferroelectromagnetic product of the order parameters.     

磁电耦合对于铁电磁系统的磁性关联的影响

铁电磁系统具有在低温下铁电有序和(反)铁磁有序自发共存的特征,存在内禀的磁电耦合效应.利用了铁电软模理论和基于海森堡模型的平均场近似理论,分别研究了磁电耦合对铁电、铁磁有序共存系统和铁电、反铁磁有序共存系统的磁性质的影响.结果发现在一定的外磁场条件下,无论是铁电、铁磁有序共存的系统还是铁电、反铁磁有序共存的系统,磁电耦合都相当于一个虚拟的外磁场,且系统的铁磁性关联会随着耦合常数的增加而增加.     

Ferromagnetism in one-dimensional monatomic metal chains

Two-dimensional systems, such as ultrathin epitaxial films and superlattices, display magnetic properties distinct from bulk materials. A challenging aim of current research in magnetism is to explore structures of still lower dimensionality. As the dimensionality of a physical system is reduced, magnetic ordering tends to decrease as fluctuations become relatively more important. Spin lattice models predict that an infinite one-dimensional linear chain with short-range magnetic interactions spontaneously breaks up into segments with different orientation of the magnetization, thereby prohibiting long-range ferromagnetic order at a finite temperature. These models, however, do not take into account kinetic barriers to reaching equilibrium or interactions with the substrates that support the one-dimensional nanostructures. Here we demonstrate the existence of both short- and long-range ferromagnetic order for one-dimensional monatomic chains of Co constructed on a Pt substrate. We find evidence that the monatomic chains consist of thermally fluctuating segments of ferromagnetically coupled atoms which, below a threshold temperature, evolve into a ferromagnetic long-range-ordered state owing to the presence of anisotropy barriers. The Co chains are characterized by large localized orbital moments and correspondingly large magnetic anisotropy energies compared to two-dimensional films and bulk Co.     

Geometric frustration in compositionally modulated ferroelectrics

Geometric frustration is a broad phenomenon that results from an intrinsic incompatibility between some fundamental interactions and the underlying lattice geometry. Geometric frustration gives rise to new fundamental phenomena and is known to yield intriguing effects such as the formation of exotic states like spin ice, spin liquids and spin glasses. It has also led to interesting findings of fractional charge quantization and magnetic monopoles. Mechanisms related to geometric frustration have been proposed to understand the origins of relaxor and multiferroic behaviour, colossal magnetocapacitive coupling, and unusual and novel mechanisms of high-transition-temperature superconductivity. Although geometric frustration has been particularly well studied in magnetic systems in the past 20 years or so, its manifestation in the important class formed by ferroelectric materials (which are compounds with electric rather than magnetic dipoles) is basically unknown. Here we show, using a technique based on first principles, that compositionally graded ferroelectrics possess the characteristic 'fingerprints' associated with geometric frustration. These systems have a highly degenerate energy surface and display critical phenomena. They further reveal exotic orderings with novel stripe phases involving complex spatial organization. These stripes display spiral states, topological defects and curvature. Compositionally graded ferroelectrics can thus be considered the 'missing link' that brings ferroelectrics into the broad category of materials able to exhibit geometric frustration. Our ab initio calculations allow deep microscopic insight into this novel geometrically frustrated system.     

磁电耦合对于多铁性材料CdCr2S4介电性质的影响

多铁性材料CdCr2S4在实验中被观测到的磁相变温度附近的介电异常现象,为一定温度区间内共存的弛豫铁电性和铁磁性提供了磁电耦合的依据。基于SRBRF模型和Heisenberg模型,我们提出形如 的磁电耦合形式,并计算出了最近邻磁自旋对关联 。最近邻自旋对关联 通过磁电耦合修正阻碍极化翻转的激活能的大小,使得被冻结在某一特定方向上的极化又能够在其它的可能取向上进行热翻转,改变了极化弛豫时间的分布,从而导致了介电性质在磁相变温度附近发生介电异常。同时,考虑磁场对介电性质的影响,得出的磁电容效应和实验数据很好吻合进一步证实了我们想法的正确性。     

Fe3/Cr3超晶格电子结构和磁性的第一性原理研究

采用基于第一性原理的全势线性缀加平面波方法(FLAPW), 计算了超晶格Fe₃/Cr₃的电子结构, 研究了该体系在铁磁耦合与反铁磁耦合两种状态下的磁矩分布和能态密度. 结果表明铁磁耦合状态是基态.     

Magnetoelectrics: is CdCr2S4 a multiferroic relaxor?

Materials showing simultaneous ferroelectric and magnetic ordering are attracting a great deal of interest because of their unusual physics and potential applications. Hemberger et al. have reported relaxor-like dielectric properties and colossal magnetocapacitance (in excess of 500%) for the cubic spinel compound CdCr2S4 and related isomorphs, concluding that CdCr2S4 is a multiferroic relaxor. We argue here, however, that their results might also be explained by a conductive artefact.     

铁电/铁磁复合材料的制备及研究进展

铁电/铁磁复合材料是一种新型的功能材料,不仅集合了铁电性和铁磁性的优点,而且具有磁电耦合效应,因此具有十分广泛的应用前景.本文系统介绍并评述了铁电/铁磁复合材料的磁电效应、制备方法以及研究的现状,探讨了铁电/铁磁复合材料研究中亟待解决的问题及发展趋势.     

Magnetic control of ferroelectric polarization

The magnetoelectric effect--the induction of magnetization by means of an electric field and induction of polarization by means of a magnetic field--was first presumed to exist by Pierre Curie, and subsequently attracted a great deal of interest in the 1960s and 1970s (refs 2-4). More recently, related studies on magnetic ferroelectrics have signalled a revival of interest in this phenomenon. From a technological point of view, the mutual control of electric and magnetic properties is an attractive possibility, but the number of candidate materials is limited and the effects are typically too small to be useful in applications. Here we report the discovery of ferroelectricity in a perovskite manganite, TbMnO3, where the effect of spin frustration causes sinusoidal antiferromagnetic ordering. The modulated magnetic structure is accompanied by a magnetoelastically induced lattice modulation, and with the emergence of a spontaneous polarization. In the magnetic ferroelectric TbMnO3, we found gigantic magnetoelectric and magnetocapacitance effects, which can be attributed to switching of the electric polarization induced by magnetic fields. Frustrated spin systems therefore provide a new area to search for magnetoelectric media.     

过渡金属掺杂ZnO纳米线结构、电子性质和磁性质

本文采用密度泛函理论系统地研究了过渡金属原子Co和Ni单掺杂和双掺杂ZnO纳米线的结构、电子性质和磁性质.所有掺杂纳米线的束缚能都为负值,表明掺杂过程是放热的. Co原子趋于占据纳米线中间位置,而Ni原子趋于占据纳米线表面位置.所有掺杂纳米线能隙都小于纯纳米线能隙,并显示出直接带隙半导体特性.纳米线的总磁矩主要来源于磁性原子的贡献. Co掺杂纳米线出现了铁磁和反铁磁两种耦合状态;而Ni掺杂纳米线出现了铁磁、反铁磁和顺磁三种耦合状态.     

Novel laminated multiferroic heterostructures for reconfigurable microwave devices

Voltage tuning of magnetism is fundamentally and technically important for fast, compact and ultra-low power electronic devices. Multiferroic heterostructures,simultaneously exhibiting distinct ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties, have caught a lot of attentions because of the capability of controlling magnetism by a voltage via a strain-mediated magnetoelectric（ME） coupling. In these materials, a voltage-induced strain is involved to create an effective magnetic field and change ferromagnetic resonance frequency in the coupled ferromagnetic phases through magnetoelastic interactions. Therefore, the devices made of such materials are compact, ultra-fast and energy efficient,providing new functionalities for microwave components.This paper will review the recent progress of multiferroics and their applications in microwave devices from different aspects, including the creation of the novel laminated multiferroic heterostructures with a strong ME coupling, the realization of the multiferroics based on tunable microwave signal processors and the investigation of nonvolatile tuning of microwave properties using ferroelastic domain switching in multiferroic heterostructures. These tunable multiferroic heterostructures and devices offer great opportunities for realizing the next generation of tunable magnetic microwave components, ultra-low power electronics and spintronics.     

“1111”型稀磁半导体的研究进展

我们成功地制备了载流子和自旋分离的"1111"型块材稀磁半导体(La,AE)(Zn,TM)AsO(AE=Ba,Sr;TM=Mn,Fe)居里温度TC可以达到40K.我们研究了载流子和局域磁矩对铁磁有序的调制作用,在(La1-xSrx)(Zn0.9Mn0.1)AsO(x=0.10,0.20,0.30)中,控制Mn的浓度为10%,改变Sr的掺杂浓度,当Sr的掺杂量为10%时,我们可以观测到～30 K的铁磁转变温度;而当Sr的掺杂量达到30%时,铁磁转变温度和有效磁矩都大幅度地降低.我们运用缪子自旋共振和中子散射等微观测量手段研究了该系列材料的自旋动力学,缪子自旋共振的测量表明铁磁有序转变发生在整个样品内,即样品是块材稀磁半导体;缪子自旋共振测量得到的"1111"型稀磁半导体静态局域场振幅as与居里温度TC的关系和(Ga,Mn)As,"111"型Li(Zn,Mn)As,以及"122"型(Ba,K)(Zn,Mn)2As2一致,表明这些体系拥有相同的磁性起源机制.我们对该系列稀磁半导体的研究有利于进一步揭示包括(Ga,Mn)As在内的稀磁半导体的磁性起源机制.     

Fe掺杂ZnO纳米线电子性质和磁性质

本文采用第一性原理密度泛函理论系统地研究了Fe原子单掺杂和双掺杂ZnO纳米线的电子性质和磁性质.所有掺杂纳米线的形成能都比纯纳米线的形成能低,说明掺杂过程是放热的.计算结果显示Fe原子趋于占据纳米线表面位置.纳米线的总磁矩主要来源于Fe原子3d轨道的贡献.由于杂化,相邻的O原子也产生了少量自旋.在超原胞内,Fe、O原子磁矩平行排列,表明它们之间是铁磁耦合.表面掺杂纳米线显示出半导体特性,而中间掺杂纳米线显示出半金属性,在自旋电子学领域有广泛应用.     

Improper ferroelectricity in perovskite oxide artificial superlattices

Ferroelectric thin films and superlattices are currently the subject of intensive research because of the interest they raise for technological applications and also because their properties are of fundamental scientific importance. Ferroelectric superlattices allow the tuning of the ferroelectric properties while maintaining perfect crystal structure and a coherent strain, even throughout relatively thick samples. This tuning is achieved in practice by adjusting both the strain, to enhance the polarization, and the composition, to interpolate between the properties of the combined compounds. Here we show that superlattices with very short periods possess a new form of interface coupling, based on rotational distortions, which gives rise to 'improper' ferroelectricity. These observations suggest an approach, based on interface engineering, to produce artificial materials with unique properties. By considering ferroelectric/paraelectric PbTiO3/SrTiO3 multilayers, we first show from first principles that the ground-state of the system is not purely ferroelectric but also primarily involves antiferrodistortive rotations of the oxygen atoms in a way compatible with improper ferroelectricity. We then demonstrate experimentally that, in contrast to pure PbTiO3 and SrTiO3 compounds, the multilayer system indeed behaves like a prototypical improper ferroelectric and exhibits a very large dielectric constant of epsilon(r) approximately 600, which is also fairly temperature-independent. This behaviour, of practical interest for technological applications, is distinct from that of normal ferroelectrics, for which the dielectric constant is typically large but strongly evolves around the phase transition temperature and also differs from that of previously known improper ferroelectrics that exhibit a temperature-independent but small dielectric constant only.     

Electric polarization reversal and memory in a multiferroic material induced by magnetic fields

Ferroelectric and magnetic materials are a time-honoured subject of study and have led to some of the most important technological advances to date. Magnetism and ferroelectricity are involved with local spins and off-centre structural distortions, respectively. These two seemingly unrelated phenomena can coexist in certain unusual materials, termed multiferroics. Despite the possible coexistence of ferroelectricity and magnetism, a pronounced interplay between these properties has rarely been observed. This has prevented the realization of multiferroic devices offering such functionality. Here, we report a striking interplay between ferroelectricity and magnetism in the multiferroic TbMn2O5, demonstrated by a highly reproducible electric polarization reversal and permanent polarization imprint that are both actuated by an applied magnetic field. Our results point to new device applications such as magnetically recorded ferroelectric memory.     

Critical thickness for ferroelectricity in perovskite ultrathin films

The integration of ferroelectric oxide films into microelectronic devices, combined with the size reduction constraints imposed by the semiconductor industry, have revived interest in the old question concerning the possible existence of a critical thickness for ferroelectricity. Current experimental techniques have allowed the detection of ferroelectricity in perovskite films down to a thickness of 40 A (ten unit cells), ref. 3. Recent atomistic simulations have confirmed the possibility of retaining the ferroelectric ground state at ultralow thicknesses, and suggest the absence of a critical size. Here we report first-principles calculations on a realistic ferroelectric-electrode interface. We show that, contrary to current thought, BaTiO3 thin films between two metallic SrRuO3 electrodes in short circuit lose their ferroelectric properties below a critical thickness of about six unit cells (approximately 24 A). A depolarizing electrostatic field, caused by dipoles at the ferroelectric-metal interfaces, is the reason for the disappearance of the ferroelectric instability. Our results suggest the existence of a lower limit for the thickness of useful ferroelectric layers in electronic devices.     

Direct observation of the alignment of ferromagnetic spins by antiferromagnetic spins

The arrangement of spins at interfaces in a layered magnetic material often has an important effect on the properties of the material. One example of this is the directional coupling between the spins in an antiferromagnet and those in an adjacent ferromagnet, an effect first discovered in 1956 and referred to as exchange bias. Because of its technological importance for the development of advanced devices such as magnetic read heads and magnetic memory cells, this phenomenon has received much attention. Despite extensive studies, however, exchange bias is still poorly understood, largely due to the lack of techniques capable of providing detailed information about the arrangement of magnetic moments near interfaces. Here we present polarization-dependent X-ray magnetic dichroism spectro-microscopy that reveals the micromagnetic structure on both sides of a ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic interface. Images of thin ferromagnetic Co films grown on antiferromagnetic LaFeO3 show a direct link between the arrangement of spins in each material. Remanent hysteresis loops, recorded for individual ferromagnetic domains, show a local exchange bias. Our results imply that the alignment of the ferromagnetic spins is determined, domain by domain, by the spin directions in the underlying antiferromagnetic layer.