Electric spontaneous polarization in YbFe2O4

Crystal clear case of ferroics

23 November 2017

Ferroelectricity has been observed in ytterbium ferrite (YbFe₂O₄) – a rare-earth element combined with iron oxide – for the first time.

It had been assumed that the properties of magnetic materials are fixed, but in some materials an electric field can switch the position of positive and negative elements, thereby reversing the polarization. A team including researchers from Okayama University grew a pure crystal of YbFe₂O₄ without any heat treatment that could alter its electric properties. They used x-ray diffraction to confirm the original polarization of ions in the iron layers. Applying an electric field reversed the ions polarization, confirming that YbFe₂O₄ is ferroelectric.

This finding could lead to the development of new multiferroic materials whose electric and magnetic field can be reversed with the flick of a switch.

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References

1. Applied Physics Letters 110, 052901 (2017). doi: 10.1063/1.4974994