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Ferroelastic switching for nanoscale non-volatile magnetoelectric devices

Abstract

Multiferroics, where (anti-) ferromagnetic, ferroelectric and ferroelastic order parameters coexist1,2,3,4,5, enable manipulation of magnetic ordering by an electric field through switching of the electric polarization6,7,8,9. It has been shown that realization of magnetoelectric coupling in a single-phase multiferroic such as BiFeO3 requires ferroelastic (71, 109) rather than ferroelectric (180) domain switching6. However, the control of such ferroelastic switching in a single-phase system has been a significant challenge as elastic interactions tend to destabilize small switched volumes, resulting in subsequent ferroelastic back-switching at zero electric field, and thus the disappearance of non-volatile information storage10,11. Guided by our phase-field simulations, here we report an approach to stabilize ferroelastic switching by eliminating the stress-induced instability responsible for back-switching using isolated monodomain BiFeO3 islands. This work demonstrates a critical step to control and use non-volatile magnetoelectric coupling at the nanoscale. Beyond magnetoelectric coupling, it provides a framework for exploring a route to control multiple order parameters coupled to ferroelastic order in other low-symmetry materials.

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Figure 1: Magnetoelectric coupling in BiFeO3.
Figure 2: Monodomain (001) BiFeO3 thin films.
Figure 3: Schematic illustration of the ferroelectric switching path of BiFeO3 thin films predicted by phase-field calculations.
Figure 4: Enhanced stability of ferroelastic switching by a BiFeO3 island.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the National Science Foundation through grant ECCS-0708759, the Office of Naval Research through grant N00014-07-1-0215 and a David and Lucile Packard Fellowship (C.B.E.). The theoretical analyses and phase-field simulations at Penn State were supported by DOE Basic Sciences under grant number DE-FG02-07ER46417 (L.Q.C.) and NSF MRSEC on Nanosciences under grant number NSF DMR-0820404 (Y.L.L. and B.W.). The work at the University of Michigan was supported by DOE Basic Sciences under grant number DE-FG02-07ER46416 (X.Q.P.). The work at Berkeley is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC02-05CH1123. The authors thank T. Tybell for helpful discussions.

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Contributions

S.H.B. fabricated samples and prepared the manuscript. H.W.J. and C.M.F. analysed the symmetry of BiFeO3 by XRD. Y.L.L. and B.W. carried out phase-field simulations. J.X.Z., Q.H. and Y.H.C. carried out high-field PFM measurements. C.T.N. and X.Q.P. carried out TEM measurements. C.B.E., R.R., L.Q.C., M.S.R. and X.Q.P. supervised the experiments and contributed to manuscript preparation. C.B.E. designed and directed the research. All authors discussed the results and implications and commented on the manuscript at all stages.

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Correspondence to C. B. Eom.

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Baek, S., Jang, H., Folkman, C. et al. Ferroelastic switching for nanoscale non-volatile magnetoelectric devices. Nature Mater 9, 309–314 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2703

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