Ferroelectrics and multiferroics articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article |

    Numerous unusual effects like topological defects and coupling of different ferroic orders go hand in hand with improper ferroelectricity. Using various theoretical methods, the authors show that improper ferroelectricity also induces a bulk magnetization and a bulk magnetoelectric effect.

    • Hena Das
    • , Aleksander L. Wysocki
    •  & Craig J. Fennie

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The origin of the abnormal photovoltaic effect in bismuth ferrite thin films, which causes voltages larger than the band gap, is poorly understood. Bhatnagar et al.show that this effect can be attributed to a bulk photovoltaic effect and that it can be enhanced by controlling domain wall conductivity.

    • Akash Bhatnagar
    • , Ayan Roy Chaudhuri
    •  & Marin Alexe

  • Article |

    In ferroelectric thin films, ferroelastic domains affect the features of polarization switching. Gao et al.perform real-time transmission electron microscopy measurements and show that ferroelastic domains can hinder the switching via formation of a transient interface layer with a dipole glass structure.

    • Peng Gao
    • , Jason Britson
    •  & Xiaoqing Pan

  • Article |

    As ferroelectric and magnetic ordering coexist in multiferroic materials, they might be used for memory applications, but only if the multiferroic phase is stable at room temperature. Here, the authors find such a phase in cupric oxide, whose spin-spiral multiferroicity is stabilized by pressure.

    • Xavier Rocquefelte
    • , Karlheinz Schwarz
    •  & Jeroen van den Brink

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ferroelectric RAM is considered a promising candidate on the quest for a universal memory, but the concept is still problem prone. Here, the authors use the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect as a non-destructive read-out method for a new prototype memory, which shows good data retention and fatigue resistance.

    • Rui Guo
    • , Lu You
    •  & Junling Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Although ferroelectrics are generally insulating, their domain walls can show electrical conductivity. Here Sluka et al. observe a highly conducting free-electron gas at charged domain walls in ferroelectric BaTiO3.

    • Tomas Sluka
    • , Alexander K. Tagantsev
    •  & Nava Setter

  • Article |

    The strong electro-optical response of BaTiO3 could be useful for making high-speed switches for optical telecommunications. Abel et al. demonstrate the ability to maintain this response in BaTiO3films grown directly onto silicon, extending its potential to the development of silicon photonics.

    • Stefan Abel
    • , Thilo Stöferle
    •  & Jean Fompeyrine

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Multiferroic materials that exhibit coupled ferromagnetic and ferroelectric characteristics could be useful in the development of non-volatile digital storage. Evans et al. report a single-phase multiferroic material whose room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling appears to be unusually strong.

    • D.M. Evans
    • , A. Schilling
    •  & J.F. Scott

  • Article |

    Domain walls in multiferroic materials exhibit novel properties that are not present in the bulk. This work reports first-principle calculations that relate the structure of the domain-wall to its electronic properties in multiferroic hexagonal manganites.

    • Yu Kumagai
    •  & Nicola A. Spaldin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    There are only a few known organic ferroelectrics, particularly ones that operate at high temperatures. Here the discovery of ferroelectricity above room temperature in members of an ubiquitous family of organic molecules reveals the possibility of novel low-cost electronic applications.

    • Sachio Horiuchi
    • , Fumitaka Kagawa
    •  & Yoshinori Tokura

  • Article |

    Morphotropic phase boundaries—regions of abrupt structural change and enhanced material response—are of practical importance and are a challenge for the fundamental theory of phase transitions. Here, the ferroelectric–antiferroelectric boundary is studied using atomically resolved mapping in BiFeO3.

    • A.Y. Borisevich
    • , E.A. Eliseev
    •  & S.V. Kalinin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The piezoelectric materials most commonly used for technological applications contain lead, a toxic element. Slukaet al. identify a mechanism that leads to an enhancement of the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of non-toxic ferroelectrics, due to the presence of charged domain walls.

    • Tomas Sluka
    • , Alexander K. Tagantsev
    •  & Nava Setter

  • Article |

    Tuning the bandgap of complex transition metal oxides in a manner that preserves their intrinsic properties has so far remained elusive. Choiet al. demonstrate that the bandgap of bismuth titanate can be varied by substitutional alloying with lanthanum cobaltate, without altering its ferroelectric properties.

    • Woo Seok Choi
    • , Matthew F. Chisholm
    •  & Ho Nyung Lee

  • Article |

    Ferroelectric materials are characterized by a spontaneous polarization, which in practical applications is manipulated by an electric field. This study examines how defects affect the switching with atomic resolution, by usingin situaberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy.

    • Peng Gao
    • , Christopher T. Nelson
    •  & Xiaoqing Pan

  • Article |

    Magnetoelectric materials combine ferroelectric and magnetic properties through a coupling of the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, magnetoelectric bismuth ferrite is found to simultaneously undergo both a magnetic and a ferroelectric transition at the same temperature.

    • Kyung-Tae Ko
    • , Min Hwa Jung
    •  & Chan-Ho Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Flux-closure patterns are rarely observed in ferroelectric materials and almost exclusively form at the nanoscale. McQuaidet al. report mesoscopic dipole closure patterns formed in free-standing single-crystal lamellae of BaTiO3, thought to result from an unusual set of experimental conditions.

    • R.G.P. McQuaid
    • , L.J. McGilly
    •  & J.M. Gregg

  • Article |

    Bismuth ferrite has photoelectric properties that make it an attractive alternative for use in photovoltaic devices. Here, using photoelectric atomic force microscopy, the authors show that photogenerated carriers can be collected by the tip and suggest that this can be used in photoelectric applications.

    • Marin Alexe
    •  & Dietrich Hesse

Browse broader subjects

Browse Ferroelectrics and multiferroics across other nature.com journals