CAREER:Magnetoelectric coupling in bulk and thin film multiferroics

Wayne State University, Detroit MI

Investigators

Abstract

Non-Technical Abstract Materials that have simultaneous magnetic dipole and electric dipole order, called multiferroics, offer the potential for developing entirely new types of technological applications. Next generation multiferroic devices, including low-power/high-speed voltage switchable magnetic memory, may eventually replace current technologies for specific applications. However, before these concepts can be translated into real devices, it is necessary to understand the mechanisms giving rise to multiferroic order. The goal of this Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project at Wayne State University is to explain how magnetic and ferroelectric order can arise simultaneously at a single temperature. This project will investigate how ordered magnetic and electric dipoles interact in multiferroics under applied electric and magnetic fields using laser light and neutron scattering, among other techniques. These studies will help to explain how the magnetic and electric dipoles commun icate with one another in multiferroics, which will be crucial for designing better materials for innovative devices. This project will provide a platform for training the next generation of scientists through direct participation of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in materials science research. Highlights from this exciting area of research will be incorporated into special topics lectures and demonstrations for Detroit area high school students. Technical Abstract This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) project at Wayne State University will investigate the simultaneous development of magnetic and ferroelectric order at a single phase transition in specific multiferroic oxides. The interplay between magnetic and ferroelectric degrees of freedom in these materials offers an extraordinary opportunity to study spin-charge coupling in "soft" materials that exhibit dramatic changes in their physical properties under externally applied fields. This project will explore the microscopic mechanisms for magnetoelectric couplings in multiferroics by studying low energy excitations under applied electric and magnetic fields using a variety of techniques including Raman and optical spectroscopy, neutron scattering, and thermodynamic characterization. Multiferroic thin film samples will be synthesized to investigate how a restricted geometry affects multiferroic order. This project will provide a platform for training the next generation of scientists through direct participation of graduate, undergraduate, and high school students in materials science research. Highlights from this exciting area of research will be incorporated into special topics lectures and demonstrations for Detroit area high school students.