Electric field switching of antiferromagnetic domains in YMn2O5: a probe of the multiferroic mechanism

Abstract

We employ neutron spherical polarimetry to determine the nature and population of the coexisting antiferromagnetic domains in multiferroic YMn2O5. By applying an electric field, we prove that reversing the electrical polarization results in the population inversion of two types of in-plane domains, related to each other by inversion. Our results are completely consistent with the exchange striction mechanism of ferroelectricity, and support a unified model where cycloidal ordering is induced by coupling to the main magnetic order parameter.

References in corpus (4)

• Ferroelectricity in spiral magnets
• Multiferroics: different ways to combine magnetism and ferroelectricity
• Electric field control of exchange bias in multiferroic epitaxial heterostructures
• Ferroelectricity induced by acentric spin-density waves in YMn${}_2$O${}_5$

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• Magnetic excitations in the low-temperature ferroelectric phase of multiferroic YMn2O5 using inelastic neutron scattering
• Topology and manipulation of multiferroic hybrid domains in MnWO${}_4$
• Control of the magnetic phase coexistence in NdFe${}_3$(BO${}_3$)${}_4$ by electric fields
• Direct control of magnetic chirality in NdMn2O5 by external electric field
• Polarisation dependence of magnetic Bragg scattering in YMn${}_2$O${}_5$