Browsing by Author "Gopalan, V."

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A Strain-Driven Morphotropic Phase Boundary in BiFeO(3)
(2009-11-13)
Zeches, R. J.
;
Rossell, M. D.
;
Zhang, J. X.
;
Hatt, A. J.
;
He, Q.
Piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical to electrical energy and vice versa, are typically characterized by the intimate coexistence of two phases across a morphotropic phase boundary. Electrically switching one to the other yields large electromechanical coupling coefficients. Driven by global environmental concerns, there is currently a strong push to discover practical lead-free piezoelectrics for device engineering. Using a combination of epitaxial growth techniques in conjunction with theoretical approaches, we show the formation of a morphotropic phase boundary through epitaxial constraint in lead-free piezoelectric bismuth ferrite (BiFeO(3)) films. Electric field-dependent studies show that a tetragonal-like phase can be reversibly converted into a rhombohedral-like phase, accompanied by measurable displacements of the surface, making this new lead-free system of interest for probe-based data storage and actuator applications.
A Strain-Driven Morphotropic Phase Boundary in BiFeO3
(2009-11-13)
Zeches, R. J.
;
Rossell, M. D.
;
Zhang, J. X.
;
Hatt, A. J.
;
He, Q.
Piezoelectric materials, which convert mechanical to electrical energy and vice versa, are typically characterized by the intimate coexistence of two phases across a morphotropic phase boundary. Electrically switching one to the other yields large electromechanical coupling coefficients. Driven by global environmental concerns, there is currently a strong push to discover practical lead-free piezoelectrics for device engineering. Using a combination of epitaxial growth techniques in conjunction with theoretical approaches, we show the formation of a morphotropic phase boundary through epitaxial constraint in lead-free piezoelectric bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) films. Electric field-dependent studies show that a tetragonal-like phase can be reversibly converted into a rhombohedral-like phase, accompanied by measurable displacements of the surface, making this new lead-free system of interest for probe-based data storage and actuator applications.
Optical properties and magnetochromism in multiferroic BiFeO(3)
(2009-04-01)
Xu, X. S.
;
Brinzari, T. V.
;
Lee, S.
;
Chu, Y. H.
;
Martin, L. W.
In order to investigate spin-charge coupling in multiferroic oxides, we measured the optical properties of BiFeO(3). Although the direct 300 K charge gap is observed at 2.67 eV, absorption onset actually occurs at much lower energy with Fe(3+) excitations at 1.41 and 1.90 eV. Temperature and magnetic-field-induced spectral changes reveal complex interactions between on-site crystal-field and magnetic excitations in the form of magnon sidebands. We employ the sensitivity of these magnon sidebands to map out the magnetic-field-temperature phase diagram which demonstrates optical evidence for spin spiral quenching above 20 T and suggests a spin domain reorientation near 10 T.
Optical properties and magnetochromism in multiferroic BiFeO3
(2009-04-01)
Xu, X. S.
;
Brinzari, T. V.
;
Lee, S.
;
Chu, Y. H.
;
Martin, L. W.
In order to investigate spin-charge coupling in multiferroic oxides, we measured the optical properties of BiFeO3. Although the direct 300 K charge gap is observed at 2.67 eV, absorption onset actually occurs at much lower energy with Fe3+ excitations at 1.41 and 1.90 eV. Temperature and magnetic-field-induced spectral changes reveal complex interactions between on-site crystal-field and magnetic excitations in the form of magnon sidebands. We employ the sensitivity of these magnon sidebands to map out the magnetic-field-temperature phase diagram which demonstrates optical evidence for spin spiral quenching above 20 T and suggests a spin domain reorientation near 10 T.
Orthorhombic BiFeO3
(2012-12-14)
Yang, J. C.
;
He, Q.
;
Suresha, S. J.
;
Kuo, C. Y.
;
Peng, C. Y.
A new orthorhombic phase of the multiferroic BiFeO3 has been created via strain engineering by growing it on a NdScO3(110)(o) substrate. The tensile-strained orthorhombic BiFeO3 phase is ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic at room temperature. A combination of nonlinear optical second harmonic generation and piezoresponse force microscopy revealed that the ferroelectric polarization in the orthorhombic phase is along the in-plane < 110 >(pc) directions. In addition, the corresponding rotation of the antiferromagnetic axis in this new phase was observed using x-ray linear dichroism. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.247606