Large Magnetoelectric Coupling in the Thin Film of Multiferroic CuO.

ABSTRACT: We report observation of large magnetoelectric coupling in an epitaxial thin film of multiferroic CuO grown on the (100)MgO substrate by the pulsed laser deposition technique. The film is characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectrometry. The crystallographic structure of the film turns out to be monoclinic (space group C2/c) with [111]CuO||[100]MgO "out-of-plane" epitaxy and "in-plane" domain structure. The lattice misfit strain is found to vary within ±1-3%. The dc resistivity, magnetization, dielectric spectroscopy, and remanent ferroeletric polarization have been measured across 80-300 K. The dielectric constant is found to decrease by >20% under a moderate magnetic field of ?18 kOe while the remanent ferroelectric polarization, emerging at the onset of magnetic transition (T N ? 175 K), decreases by nearly 50% under ?18 kOe field. These results could assume importance as the strain-free bulk CuO does not exhibit magnetoelectric coupling within such magnetic field regime. The strain-induced large magnetoelectric coupling in the CuO thin film would generate new possibility of further strain tuning to observe room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroicity suitable for scores of applications such as memories, sensors, energy-harvesting devices, generators, amplifiers, and so forth.

SUBMITTER: Goswami S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7496646 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature