Abstract
We present a study of the anisotropy of the dielectric, magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of the multiferroic clinopyroxene NaFeGe2O6. Pyroelectric currents, dielectric constants and magnetic susceptibilities as well as the thermal expansion and the magnetostriction were examined on large synthetic single crystals of NaFeGe2O6. The spontaneous electric polarization detected below in an antiferromagnetically ordered state () is mainly lying within the ac plane with a small component along , indicating a triclinic symmetry of the multiferroic phase of NaFeGe2O6. The electric polarization can be strongly modified by applying magnetic fields along different directions. We derive detailed magnetic field versus temperature phase diagrams and identify three multiferroic low-temperature phases, which are separated by a non-ferroelectric, antiferromagnetically ordered state from the paramagnetic high-temperature phase.
Highlights
Spin-driven multiferroics with complex antiferromagnetic orders, such as spiral or cycloidal spin structures, are in the focus of scientific interest since the last ten years [1,2,3,4]
We present a study of the anisotropy of the dielectric, magnetic and magnetoelastic properties of the multiferroic clinopyroxene NaFeGe2O6
The spontaneous electric polarization detected below TC 11.6 K in an antiferromagnetically ordered state (TN 13 K) is mainly lying within the ac plane with a small component along b, indicating a triclinic symmetry of the multiferroic phase of NaFeGe2O6
Summary
Spin-driven multiferroics with complex antiferromagnetic orders, such as spiral or cycloidal spin structures, are in the focus of scientific interest since the last ten years [1,2,3,4]. Because in this class of materials ferroelectricity usually is induced by a primary magnetic ordering, ferroelectric and magnetic order show strong magnetoelectric coupling. In the years after the pioneering work of Jodlauk et al [17] intense research activities set in to find more multiferroic materials within the pyroxene family [19, 21,22,23,24], up to date only one further multiferroic compound could be identified, namely NaFeGe2O6 [25]
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