A multiferroic on the brink: uncovering the nuances of strain-induced transitions in BiFeO${}_3$

Abstract

Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO${}_3$) is one of the very few known single-phase multiferroic materials. While the bulk compound is rhombohedral (R), the discovery of an epitaxial strain-induced structural transition into a so-called 'super tetragonal-phase' (T-phase) in this material incited a flurry of research activity focused on gaining an understanding of this phase transition and its possible functionalities. This metastable phase of BiFeO${}_3$ is also multiferroic, with giant ferroelectric polarization and coexisting antiferromagnetic order, but above all it is the strain relaxation-induced phase mixtures and their outstanding piezoelectric and magnetoelectric responses which continue to intrigue and motivate the physicist and materials scientist communities. Here, we review the research into the T-phase and mixed-phase BiFeO${}_3$ system. We begin with a brief summary of the history of the T-phase and an analysis of the structure of the various phases reported in the literature. We then address important questions regarding the symmetry and octahedral rotation patterns and the (as yet underexplored) important role of chemistry in the formation of the metastable T-phase. We follow by describing the phase transitions in this material, and how these may hold promise for large magnetoelectric responses. Finally we point out some experimental challenges inherent to the study of such a system, and potential pathways for how they may be overcome. It is our intention with this work to highlight important issues that, in our opinion, should be carefully considered by the community in order to use this fascinating materials system for a new paradigm of functionality.

25 pages, 6 figures

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• Effect of epitaxial strain on the spontaneous polarization of thin film ferroelectrics
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• Phase diagram of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 solid solutions from first principles
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Cited by in corpus (15)

• Strain and Magnetic Field Induced Spin-Structure Transitions in Multiferroic BiFeO3
• Super-R BiFeO${}_3$: Epitaxial stabilization of a low-symmetry phase with giant electromechanical response
• Strain engineering of epitaxial oxide heterostructures beyond substrate limitations
• Effects of the Hubbard U on density functional-based predictions of BiFeO${}_3$ properties
• Data Mining for better material synthesis: the case of pulsed laser deposition of complex oxides
• Controllable Defect Driven Symmetry Change and Domain Structure Evolution in BiFeO3 with Enhanced Tetragonality
• Strain-gradient-induced magnetic anisotropy in straight-stripe mixed-phase bismuth ferrites: An insight into flexomagnetic phenomenon
• Influence of crystal structure on charge carrier effective masses in BiFeO${}_3$
• Patterning enhanced tetragonality in BiFeO3 thin films with effective negative pressure by helium implantation
• An empirical approach to measuring interface energies in mixed-phase bismuth ferrite
• Strain-induced bent domains in ferroelectric nitrides
• Oxygen tilt-driven polar super-orders in BiFeO3-based superlattices
• Stability and low-energy orientations of interphase boundaries in multiaxial ferroelectrics: Phase-field simulations
• Electric field control of magnetism in Si3N4 gated Pt/Co/Pt heterostructures
• Giant Strain Tunability in Polycrystalline Ceramic Films via Helium Implantation