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Multiferroic and magnetoelectric materials

Nature volume 442, pages 759–765 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

A ferroelectric crystal exhibits a stable and switchable electrical polarization that is manifested in the form of cooperative atomic displacements. A ferromagnetic crystal exhibits a stable and switchable magnetization that arises through the quantum mechanical phenomenon of exchange. There are very few ‘multiferroic’ materials that exhibit both of these properties, but the ‘magnetoelectric’ coupling of magnetic and electrical properties is a more general and widespread phenomenon. Although work in this area can be traced back to pioneering research in the 1950s and 1960s, there has been a recent resurgence of interest driven by long-term technological aspirations.

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Figure 1: The relationship between multiferroic and magnetoelectric materials.
Figure 2: Time-reversal and spatial-inversion symmetry in ferroics.
Figure 3: Strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in two-phase systems.
Figure 4: Examples of magnetoelectric coupling.
Figure 5: Link between the magnetic and electrical properties of BaMnF4.
Figure 6: Magnetoelectric coupling in two-phase systems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank P. B. Littlewood, M. Fiebig and A. D. Kent for discussions and S. Celotto for assistance with reproducing figures. This work was supported by an EU Marie Curie Fellowship (W.E.), The Royal Society (N.D.M.) and the UK EPSRC.

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  1. Department of Materials Science, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, CB2 3QZ, Cambridge, UK

    W. Eerenstein & N. D. Mathur

  2. Centre for Ferroics, Earth Sciences Department, University of Cambridge, Pembroke Street, CB2 3QZ, Cambridge, UK

    J. F. Scott

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Eerenstein, W., Mathur, N. & Scott, J. Multiferroic and magnetoelectric materials. Nature 442, 759–765 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05023

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