APL Materials (Nov 2014)

Change in the magnetic structure of (Bi,Sm)FeO3 thin films at the morphotropic phase boundary probed by neutron diffraction

  • Shingo Maruyama,
  • Varatharajan Anbusathaiah,
  • Amy Fennell,
  • Mechthild Enderle,
  • Ichiro Takeuchi,
  • William D. Ratcliff

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4901294
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 11
pp. 116106 – 116106-7

Abstract

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We report on the evolution of the magnetic structure of BiFeO3 thin films grown on SrTiO3 substrates as a function of Sm doping. We determined the magnetic structure using neutron diffraction. We found that as Sm increases, the magnetic structure evolves from a cycloid to a G-type antiferromagnet at the morphotropic phase boundary, where there is a large piezoelectric response due to an electric-field induced structural transition. The occurrence of the magnetic structural transition at the morphotropic phase boundary offers another route towards room temperature multiferroic devices.