arXiv subjects

F. P. Chmiel

Publications and source records attributed to F. P. Chmiel.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2018

Strain engineering a multiferroic monodomain in thin-film BiFeO$_3$

The presence of domains in ferroic materials can negatively affect their macroscopic properties and hence their usefulness in device applications. From an experimental perspective, measuring materials comprising multiple domains can complicate the interpretation of material properties and their underlying mechanisms. In general, BiFeO$_3$ films tend to grow with multiple magnetic domains and often contain multiple ferroelectric and ferroelastic domain variants. By growing (111)-oriented BiFeO$_3$ films on an orthorhombic TbScO$_3$ substrate, we are able to overcome this, and, by exploiting the magnetoelastic coupling between the magnetic and crystal structures, bias the growth of a given magnetic-, ferroelectric-, and structural-domain film. We further demonstrate the coupling of the magnetic structure to the ferroelectric polarisation by showing the magnetic polarity in this domain is inverted upon 180$^\circ$ ferroelectric switching

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2018

Observation of magnetic vortex pairs at room temperature in a planar α-Fe2O3/Co heterostructure

Vortices are among the simplest topological structures, and occur whenever a flow field `whirls' around a one-dimensional core. They are ubiquitous to many branches of physics, from fluid dynamics to superconductivity and superfluidity, and are even predicted by some unified theories of particle interactions, where they might explain some of the largest-scale structures seen in today's Universe. In the crystalline state, vortex formation is rare, since it is generally hampered by long-range interactions: in ferroic materials (ferromagnetic and ferroelectric), vortices are only observed when the effects of the dipole-dipole interaction is modified by confinement at the nanoscale, or when the parameter associated with the vorticity does not couple directly with strain. Here, we present the discovery of a novel form of vortices in antiferromagnetic (AFM) hematite ($α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$) epitaxial films, in which the primary whirling parameter is the staggered magnetisation. Remarkably, ferromagnetic (FM) topological objects with the same vorticity and winding number of the $α$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ vortices are imprinted onto an ultra-thin Co ferromagnetic over-layer by interfacial exchange. Our data suggest that the ferromagnetic vortices may be merons (half-skyrmions, carrying an out-of-plane core magnetisation), and indicate that the vortex/meron pairs can be manipulated by the application of an in-plane magnetic field, H$_{\parallel}$, giving rise to large-scale vortex-antivortex annihilation.

cond-mat.mtrl-sci↗

arXiv2017

Electrical switching of magnetic polarity in a multiferroic BiFeO3 device at room temperature

We have directly imaged reversible electrical switching of the cycloidal rotation direction (magnetic polarity) in a (111)-BiFeO3 epitaxial-film device at room temperature by non-resonant x-ray magnetic scattering. Consistent with previous reports, fully relaxed (111)-BiFeO3 epitaxial films consisting of a single ferroelectric domain were found to comprise a sub-micron-scale mosaic of magneto-elastic domains, all sharing a common direction of the magnetic polarity, which was found to switch reversibly upon reversal of the ferroelectric polarization without any measurable change of the magneto-elastic domain population. A real-space polarimetry map of our device clearly distinguished between regions of the sample electrically addressed into the two magnetic states with a resolution of a few tens of micron. Contrary to the general belief that the magneto-electric coupling in BiFeO3 is weak, we find that electrical switching has a dramatic effect on the magnetic structure, with the magnetic moments rotating on average by 90 degrees at every cycle.

cond-mat.str-el↗

arXiv2016

Coherent magneto-elastic domains in multiferroic BiFeO3 films

The physical properties of epitaxial films can fundamentally differ from those of bulk single crystals even above the critical thickness. By a combination of non-resonant x-ray magnetic scattering, neutron diffraction and vector-mapped x-ray magnetic linear dichroism photoemission electron microscopy, we show that epitaxial (111)-BiFeO3 films support sub-micron antiferromagnetic domains, which are magneto-elastically coupled to a coherent crystallographic monoclinic twin structure. This unique texture, which is absent in bulk single crystals, should enable control of magnetism in BiFeO3 film devices via epitaxial strain.

cond-mat.str-el↗