Out-of-plane polarization reversal and changes in in-plane ferroelectric and ferromagnetic domains of multiferroic BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 thin films by water printing

Abstract

BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 is a promising material for an ultra-low-power-consumption nonvolatile magnetic memory device because local magnetization reversal is possible through application of an electric field. Here, changes in ferroelectric and ferromagnetic domain structures in a multiferroic BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 thin film induced by “water printing”, which is a polarization reversal method involving chemical bonding and charge accumulation at the interface between the liquid and the film, was investigated. Water printing using pure water with pH = 6.2 resulted in an out-of-plane polarization reversal from upward to downward. The in-plane domain structure remained unchanged after the water printing process, indicating that 71° switching was achieved in 88.4% of the observation area. However, magnetization reversal was observed in only 50.1% of the area, indicating a loss of correlation between the ferroelectric and magnetic domains because of the slow polarization reversal due to nucleation growth.