Abstract
Thin films of a lead-free magnetoelectric compound AlFeO3 have been deposited using a pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and reflectivity measurements established the orthorhombic structure and a material density of 4.5 g/cm3, which is comparable to the bulk AlFeO3. The polycrystalline AlFeO3 film showed a strong magnetoelastic coupling. The Raman study carried out at variable temperatures and under an applied magnetic field at room temperature showed spectacular results. One of the Raman modes corresponding to AlFeO3 was found to vanish completely when the magnetic field of 0.08 T was applied at room temperature. The mode was also found to vanish between the temperature window of 280 K–236 K in temperature dependent studies. The observation was further supported by the detailed analysis of magnetization studies, which showed a change in the magnetic order in the same temperature interval. The invisibility of the Raman phonon mode has been attributed to the lattice deformation caused by the magnetoelastic effect. Additionally, the phonon frequencies showed renormalization below 200 K demonstrating a strong spin-lattice coupling.
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