Magnetic structural unit with convex geometry: A building block hosting an exchange-striction-driven magnetoelectric coupling

Kenta Kimura, Yasuyuki Kato, Kunihiko Yamauchi, Atsushi Miyake, Masashi Tokunaga, Akira Matsuo, Koichi Kindo, Mitsuru Akaki, Masayuki Hagiwara, Shojiro Kimura, Masayuki Toyoda, Yukitoshi Motome, Tsuyoshi Kimura

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We perform a combined experimental and theoretical study of a magnetic-field (B)-induced evolution of magnetic and ferroelectric properties in an antiferromagnetic material Pb(TiO)Cu4(PO4)4, whose structure is characterized by a staggered array of Cu4O12 magnetic units with convex geometry known as square cupola. Our experiments show a B-induced phase transition from a previously reported low-B linear magnetoelectric phase to a high-B magnetoelectric phase, which accompanies a 90 flop of electric polarization and gigantic magnetodielectric effect. Moreover, we observe a B-induced sign reversal of ferroelectric polarization in the high-B phase. Our model and first-principles calculations reveal that the observed complex magnetoelectric behavior is well explained in terms of a B-dependent electric polarization generated in each Cu4O12 unit by the so-called exchange-striction mechanism. The present study demonstrates that the materials design based on the magnetic structural unit with convex geometry deserves to be explored for developing strong magnetoelectric couplings.

Original languageEnglish
Article number104415
JournalPhysical Review Materials
Volume2
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018 Oct 30
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science(all)
  • Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous)

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