Electric Polarization Induced by a Proper Helical Magnetic Ordering in a Delafossite Multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2

Abstract

Multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2 (x=0.02) exhibits a ferroelectric ordering accompanied by a proper helical magnetic ordering below T=7K under zero magnetic field. By polarized neutron diffraction and pyroelectric measurements, we have revealed a one-to-one correspondence between the spin helicity and the direction of the spontaneous electric polarization. This result indicates that the spin helicity of the proper helical magnetic ordering is essential for the ferroelectricity in CuFe1-xAlxO2. The induction of the electric polarization by the proper helical magnetic ordering is, however, cannot be explained by the Katsura-Nagaosa-Balatsky model, which successfully explains the ferroelectricity in the recently explored ferroelectric helimagnets, such as TbMnO3. We thus conclude that CuFe1-xAlxO2 is a new class of magnetic ferroelectrics.

4 pages, 4 figures

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• Multiferroicity with high-Tc in ceramics of the YBaCuFeO5 ordered perovskite
• Electromagnons in the spin collinear state of a triangular lattice antiferromagnet
• Mapping the B,T phase diagram of frustrated metamagnet CuFeO2
• Magnetic digital flop of ferroelectric domain with fixed spin chirality in a triangular lattice helimagnet
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• Identification of microscopic spin-polarization coupling in the ferroelectric phase of a magnetoelectric multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2
• High-field recovery of the undistorted triangular lattice in the frustrated metamagnet CuFeO2
• Helical magnetic state in the distorted triangular lattice of alpha-CaCr2O4
• Non-Collinear Magnetic Phases of a Triangular-Lattice Antiferromagnet and Doped CuFeO${}_2$
• Magnetoelectric interactions in polycrystalline multiferroic antiferromagnets CuFe(1-x)RhxO2 (x=0.00 and x=0.05)
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• Magnetoelectric coupling in polycrystalline FeVO4
• Spin-orbit coupling and electronic charge effects in Mott insulators
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• Evidence of Ba substitution induced spin-canting in the magnetic Weyl semimetal EuCd${}_2$As${}_2$
• Polarization memory in the nonpolar magnetic ground state of multiferroic CuFeO2
• Anisotropic magnetic field responses of ferroelectric polarization in a trigonal multiferroic CuFe1-xAlxO2 (x=0.015)
• Rich magnetoelectric phase diagrams of multiferroic single-crystal alpha-NaFeO2