Ferroelectricity and weak ferromagnetism of hexagonal ErFeO 3 thin films
Résumé
Hexagonal ErFeO 3 thin films fabricated by a pulsed laser deposition method were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy. No structural phase transition was observed between 20 and 900 K. Ferroelectric D-E hysteresis loops were obtained at room temperature using the double-wave method, and the magnitude of spontaneous polarization was determined to be 200 nC/cm 2. The existence of superlattice reflections in the XRD indicates that the space group of ErFeO 3 thin film is the polar hexagonal P 6 3 cm. This result also supports the ferroelectricity at room temperature. Magnetic properties were examined by a superconducting quantum interference device and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Below the Néel temperature of 120 K (T N), a weak ferromagnetism appears along the c axis due to the canting of Fe 3+ magnetic moments. Around T N , the imaginary part of dielectric constant shows an anomaly. These results prove h-ErFeO 3 thin films to be multiferroic below 120 K.