Project Details

The realization of electrical switching of spin currents in multiferroic magnetoelectrics without the need to apply a strong magnetic field promises transformative applications in future electronics. Supported by the Czech Science Foundation, this joint project with FZU - Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences (co-PI: Dr. Filip Kadlec, Dpt. of Dielectrics) investigates novel BaREFeO4 multiferroics, where RE represents selected rare-earth elements, to determine the relationship between the crystal structure, chemical composition, magnetic structure, charge ordering, and magnetoelectric (ME) coupling. Apart from standard characterization methods, the measurements of magnetic and electric properties, including complex THz permittivity, are complemented with nuclear methods (Mössbauer spectroscopy, NMR) and neutron powder diffraction. We plan to elucidate the underlying microscopic mechanisms of static and dynamic ME coupling in the studied phases and the influence of particular RE elements on the magnetic structure and strength of the ME coupling. The detailed knowledge of ME systems guides their potential use in information storage, sensing, and actuation, as well as spintronics, where the control of spin and magnetic states by an electric field is most desirable.