Room Temperature Magnetoelectric Coupling Research Articles

Comprehensive investigation into the influence of oxygen vacancies on the ferroelectric properties of spin coated bismuth ferrite thin films

Bismuth ferrite (BFO) is a prime candidate for room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling and multiferroic applications. The rhombohedral R3c phase of BFO is the source of many properties, but the phase purity and oxygen vacancies are still the biggest obstacles to its real-world application. Considering these facts, the present work investigates the effects of oxygen vacancies on the functional properties through manipulation of drying temperatures of spin-cast films, especially at temperatures around 280 °C, where both the secondary phase and oxygen vacancies are prevalent. One of the biggest sources of oxygen vacancy is bismuth volatilisation, and our work deals with the situation head-on, uncovering the effect of bismuth volatilisation on functional properties. The structural properties were studied using x-ray diffraction (XRD), and deeper insights into the surface topography of the samples were obtained using AFM imaging. The electrical and dielectric characteristics help distinguish and analyse the samples in terms of the presence of resistive switching. PUND studies were performed to determine the ferroelectric properties of the samples. A fifty percent reduction in the oxygen vacancies in the presence of secondary phases was observed when compared with the phase-pure sample, as shown by the XPS analysis. Deeper insights were provided into the valence band spectra by first-principles studies. This work shows that phase purity may not be the singular condition for enhancing functional properties, and fine-tuning the presence of secondary phases and oxygen vacancies may be the way forward. The ferroelectric polarisation in one of the samples exhibits a notably higher value when using chemical solution deposition methods, making it a promising candidate for memory devices.

Lithiation bridged molecular conducting magnets

Combining ferromagnetism and metallic conductivity has been extensively studied in contemporary materials science. However, building such multifunctionalities in molecular chemistry is particularly challenging, on which two collec-tive properties are long considered as mutually exclusive. Here, we report molecular conducting magnet consisting of two-dimensional graphene and molecular planar magnetic networks bridged by electrochemical lithiation, exhibiting the co-existence of distinct magnetism and conductivity and magneto-electric coupling effects. The room temperature magnetoresistance and magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of such complex solid reach 10.7 % and 1.77 V/Oe cm, respectively, which can be further tailored by modulating the interaction between graphene and molecular magnetic network. In addition, the graphene passivation simultaneously introduces environmental stability of molecular mag-nets. The electrochemical lithiation offers a pathway towards coupling magnetism and conductivity in molecular complexes.

Improved magnetoelectric coupling of Co–Ti substituted barium hexaferrite at room temperature and related electrical investigations

This paper reports a systematic study of the electrical, multiferroic and magnetoelectric coupling properties of Co–Ti substituted Barium hexaferrites, having the chemical composition BaFe12-2xCoxTixO19 (x = 0–2.0; in steps of 0.5), synthesized using the sol gel auto-combustion method. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) studies and Rietveld refinement confirmed the successful incorporation of Co–Ti ions in the hexaferrite lattice with all the samples displaying Pb63/mmc space group single phase structure. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images revealed the inhibition of crystal growth in a particular direction with Co–Ti substitution. The conduction mechanisms of the samples were analysed from the conductivity measurements and were found to follow Jonschers power law. The complex impedance spectroscopy analysis and the Cole-Cole plot fitted diagrams of the samples indicated the enhancement of bulk resistivity and grain boundary resistivity with substitution. Saturation magnetizations of the substituted samples decreased and were ascribed to the replacement of Fe ions by Co–Ti ions at different crystallographic sites. The observed reduction in anisotropy constant indicated the disturbance in the magnetic axis. The multiferroic nature of the substituted samples at room temperature was confirmed from the soft ferroelectric loops. Room temperature magnetoelectric coupling coefficient was found to be largely enhanced with substitution, achieving an exceptionally high value of 182mV/cmOe for the x = 1.5 sample. This may prove useful for potential use in emerging device applications as a single phase room temperature multiferroic material.

Structural, Dielectric, Complex Impedance and Magnetoelectric Properties of the (1-x) KNbO3 - xMgFe2O4 Composites

Ferrite-ferroelectric nanoparticle composites have a promising potential for a wider range of applications for the manufacturing of new-generation devices due to the tenability of their electric and magnetic orders. In this present work, room-temperature magnetoelectric (ME) coupling studies of KNbO3/MgFe2O4 composites having a general formula (1-x) KNbO3 - xMgFe2O4 (where x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9, 1) is presented. The presence of the cubic spinel-ferrite phase of MgFe2O4 and the orthorhombic ferroelectric phase of KNbO3 were confirmed by the structural analysis which was employed using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and morphology and grain size using Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Magnetization versus magnetic field (M-H) measurements conform to ferromagnetic ordering and show improved magnetization with the increase in the ferrite phase. The existence of coupling between ferroelectric and ferromagnetic ordering was performed using a lock-in amplifier ME measurement setup. All the composite samples show good linear magnetoelectric coupling that increases with increasing ferrite content. This composite nanostructure with a well-defined interface provides the possibility of an ideal model of room temperature ME coupling which is significant from the technological point of view for a variety of miniaturized next-generation device applications. 

Application of the Lock-In Technique in Magnetoelectric Coupling Measurements of the PZT/Terfenol-D Composite

This paper presents a study of magnetoelectric (ME) properties of the PZT/Terfenol-D composite with a varying number of layers. The composite consists of piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phases that are mechanically coupled. The purpose of this setup is to gain control over the electric polarization of a material via an external magnetic field. Unlike most similar composites, our samples utilize a commercial piezoelectric patch instead of pure PZT. At present, researchers face two main problems regarding magnetoelectric materials: (i) the effect is observed far below room temperature for single-phase materials, and (ii) the ME coupling is too weak to be commercially viable. Our research was carried out via the lock-in technique on two PZT/Terfenol-D samples we synthesized. Relatively strong room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling between piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phases was observed for both samples. Two types of characteristics were investigated: (i) ME voltage versus magnetic AC field frequency, and (ii) ME voltage versus magnetic DC field. We detected multiple, grouped signal peaks ascribed to different resonance modes. Uniquely, the peaks form band-like characteristics which might be an important step in bringing the materials closer to wider commercial use.

Octahedron distortion-triggered dipole–spin interaction in multiferroic magnetoelectric perovskites

The design of perovskite structures with multiferroic magnetoelectric coupling effects opens up new opportunities in fields such as the creation of next-generation spin-dependent multistate information storage technologies. In this work, we prepared a transition metal-implanted perovskite with multiferroic magnetoelectric coupling, in which both magnetoelectric coupling and a blueshift of photoluminescence were observed. The introduction of transition metal-generated polarized spin interacts with the electronic orbit through spin–orbital coupling to lead to a pronounced octahedron distortion, where the temperature dependence of the dielectric constant undergoes a ferroelectric polarization transition. An external magnetic field could enhance the strength of spin polarization to further affect the magnitude of electric polarization. Moreover, applying an electric field tunes the distortion of the octahedron dependence of electric polarization to feed back to the change in spin polarization. Overall, the spin polarization-induced electric polarization in perovskites provides a unique approach to realizing the room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling of multiferroic materials.

Enhanced multiferroicity of Ho0.95Co0.05Fe0.95Ti0.05O3 by co-doping in HoFeO3 nanoparticle system

Nanocrystalline HoFeO3 is a potential multiferroic and will be more useful if its multiferroicity can be enhanced by improving the magnetic and electric ordering. In this regard, co-doping with Co and Ti, was considered in HoFeO3 (HFO) to enhance its magneto-electric behavior and thus synthesize a new monophasic multiferroic, Ho0.95Co0.05Fe0.95Ti0.05O3 (HCFTO). Both the pristine and doped HFO nanoparticles were synthesized in sol–gel route. Rietveld analyses of X-ray diffractograms, confirmed the formation of pure orthorhombic (Pnma) phase of both bare and doped HFO. Presence of the canted antiferromagnetism of bare HFO at room-temperature with antiferromagnetic transition at ∼ 637 K was confirmed in susceptibility vs. temperature variation and by the nature of MH loops. Interestingly, substantial enhancement of magnetism was observed in HCFTO compared to that of bare one, where the room-temperature maximum magnetization is enhanced by 73%. Dielectric strength of HFO (∼48) is also enhanced highly (∼3.4 times) in HCFTO (∼165), and the loss factor is lowered to nearly half. Current density vs. electric field (J-E) curve suggests the presence of polarization at room temperature with negligible leakage loss. Lower leakage loss of HCFTO indicates better multiferroicity than HFO. Direct measurement of ferroelectric loop shows the room-temperature ferroelectricity of bare HFO (Pmax ∼ 0.0041 µc/cm2) well improved (∼1.5 times) in the doped HCFTO (Pmax ∼ 0.0061 µc/cm2) with lower hysteresis loss. Room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling measurements, shows a high value (∼2.47%) of magnetocapacitance in the doped system, which is much higher (∼4.94 times) than the bare one (∼0.5%). All these properties of the sample clearly confirm the co-doping in the HoFeO3 nanoparticle system results in a considerable improvement in its magnetoelectric behavior, and this co-doped Ho0.95Co0.05Fe0.95Ti0.05O3 system can be a promising and potential magnetoelectric multiferroic for device applications.

Room temperature multiferroicity of hexagonal LuFeO3 and its enhancement by co-doping in Lu0.9Co0.1Fe0.9Ti0.1O3 nanoparticle system

Antiferromagnetic LuFeO3 can be good multiferroic by having ferroelectricity in its non-centrosymmetric hexagonal phase. But, it is hard to stabilize this metastable phase, preventing the stable orthorhombic phase. In this work, metastable hexagonal LuFeO3 (LFO) nanoparticle was stabilized in chemical sol-gel route in pure phase and co-doped with Co and Ti in the same route to synthesize Lu0.9Co0.1Fe0.9Ti0.1O3 (LCFTO) nanoparticles. Room temperature multiferroicity of bare LFO was established through relevant characterization. And motive behind the co-doping is to enhance the magnetoelectric behavior of the bare system to synthesize a new monophasic type II magnetoelectric multiferroic. Structural investigation by thorough Rietveld analyses of the recorded X-ray diffractograms, confirmed the formation of pure hexagonal (P63cm) phase of both bare and doped LFO. However, deviations in various structural & microstructural parameters were observed in the doped system, which is mainly responsible for the enhancement of magnetic and electric properties of the sample. Presence of antiferromagnetic transition at ∼604 K confirmed the room temperature magnetic ordering of bare LFO. Interestingly, LCFTO shows a drastic enhancement of magnetic property than the bare one in all concerns, where the maximum magnetization at the maximum applied field is enhanced by nearly 36 times at room temperature. Detailed high-temperature dielectric investigation shows, good dielectric strength (∼261) of LFO gets enhanced highly in LCFTO (∼1053) and a high relaxation time having negligible loss factor with an indication of ferro to paraelectric transition above room temperature. Current density vs. electric field (J-E) curve suggests the presence of polarization at room temperature with negligible leakage loss. Direct measurement of ferroelectric loop shows the ferroelectricity (Pmax∼0.064 µc/cm2) of bare LFO at room temperature and a well improvement in the doped LCFTO (Pmax∼0.151 µc/cm2). The presence of room temperature magnetoelectric coupling, confirmed by magnetocapacitance measurements, results in a high value (∼5 %) of magnetocapacitance in the doped system which is also much higher than the bare one (<∼1 %) as expected. All these properties confirm the magnetoelectric multiferroicity of bare h-LuFeO3 at room temperature. And, co-doping in hexagonal LuFeO3 nanoparticle system results in a considerable improvement in its magnetoelectric behavior, so this co-doped system can be a promising and potential magnetoelectric multiferroic for the future generation magnetoelectric devices.

Solution-Processed Multiferroic Thin-Films with Large Magnetoelectric Coupling at Room-Temperature.

Experimental realization of thin films with a significant room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling coefficient, αME, in the absence of an external DC magnetic field, has been thus far elusive. Here, a large coupling coefficient of 750 ± 30 mV Oe-1 cm-1 is reported for multiferroic polymer nanocomposites (MPCs) thin-films in the absence of an external DC magnetic field. The MPCs are based on PMMA-grafted cobalt-ferrite nanoparticles uniformly dispersed in the piezoelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-TrFE). It is shown that nanoparticle agglomeration plays a detrimental role and significantly reduces αME. Surface functionalization of the nanoparticles by grafting a layer of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) renders the nanoparticle miscible with P(VDF-TRFE) matrix, thus enabling their uniform dispersion in the matrix even in submicrometer thin films. Uniform dispersion yields maximized interfacial interactions between the ferromagnetic nanoparticles and the piezoelectric polymer matrix leading to the experimental demonstration of large αME values in solution-processed thin films, which can be exploited in flexible and printable multiferroic electronic devices for sensing and memory applications.

Room-Temperature Magnetoelectric Coupling in Atomically Thin ε-Fe2 O3.

2D multiferroics with magnetoelectric coupling combine the magnetic order and electric polarization in a single phase, providing a cornerstone for constructing high-density information storages and low-energy-consumption spintronic devices. The strong interactions between various order parameters are crucial for realizing such multifunctional applications, nevertheless, this criterion is rarely met in classical 2D materials at room-temperature. Here an ingenious space-confined chemical vapor deposition strategy is designed to synthesize atomically thin non-layered ε-Fe2 O3 single crystals and disclose the room-temperature long-range ferrimagnetic order. Interestingly, the strong ferroelectricity and its switching behavior are unambiguously discovered in atomically thin ε-Fe2 O3 , accompanied with an anomalous thickness-dependent coercive voltage. More significantly, the robust room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling is uncovered by controlling the magnetism with electric field and verifies the multiferroic feature of atomically thin ε-Fe2 O3 . This work not only represents a substantial leap in terms of the controllable synthesis of 2D multiferroics with robust magnetoelectric coupling, but also provides a crucial step toward the practical applications in low-energy-consumption electric-writing/magnetic-reading devices.

Structural peculiarities of ε-Fe2O3/GaN epitaxial layers unveiled by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and neutron reflectometry

The present paper is dedicated to the structural study of crystallographic peculiarities appearing in epitaxial films of metastable epsilon iron oxide ($\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$) grown by pulsed laser deposition onto a semiconductor GaN (0001) substrate. The columnar structure of the nanoscale $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ films has been for the first time investigated using high resolution electron microscopy (HRTEM) direct space technique complemented by reciprocal space methods of high-energy electron diffraction and color-enhanced HRTEM image Fourier filtering. The study of $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN interface formation has been further expanded by carrying out a depth resolved analysis of density and chemical composition by neutron reflectometry and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The obtained results shed light onto the properties and the origin of the enigmatic few-nanometer thick low density transition layer residing at the $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN interface. A detailed knowledge of the properties of this layer is believed to be highly important for the development of $\varepsilon$-Fe$_2$O$_3$ / GaN heterostructures that can potentially become part of the iron-oxide based ferroic-on-semiconductor devices with room temperature magneto-electric coupling.

Chiral magnetic structure of Y-type Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 hexaferrite in intermediate phase

Chiral magnetic structure of Y-type Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 hexaferrite in intermediate phase. / G. Khazaradze, A. Shengelaya. / Nano Studies. – 2020. – # 20. – pp. 131-136. – eng. Magnetic structure in intermediate-II and intermediate-III phases of Y-type hexaferrite single crystal Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 was investigated using neutron diffraction with polarization analysis. It was found that both phases have chiral magnetic structures. This shows that in contrast to previous assumptions, intermediate-II phase has transverse conical spin structure similar to the intermediate-III phase. Therefore, magnetic field induced ferroelectric state may exist also in the intermediate-II phase of Y-type Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 hexaferrite. Obtained results provide important insight into the recent observations of room temperature magnetoelectric coupling in Y-type Ba0.6Sr1.4Zn2Fe12O22 hexaferrite. Fig. 3, Ref. 12.

A magnetoelectric nanocomposite based on two dimensional Cr2O3 and CoFe2O4

Nanocomposites consisting of 2 dimensional (2D) amorphous Cr2O3-CoFe2O4 and crystalline 2D Cr2O3-CoFe2O4 were prepared and the room temperature magnetoelectric coupling was studied. This study also investigated the effect of crystalline 2D Cr2O3 on the exchange bias induced magnetoelectric coupling in the composites. Evidence for the exchange bias in the composites is obtained from field cooling - zero field cooling (FC-ZFC) measurements. The 2D crystalline Cr2O3 composite exhibits high magnetoelectric coupling coefficient at room temperature when compared to bulk composite for the corresponding Cr2O3. These composites augurs well for applications especially for energy harvesting and spintronics.

Room-temperature surface multiferroicity in Y2NiMnO6 nanorods

We report observation of surface-defect-induced room-temperature multiferroicity---surface ferromagnetism (${M}_{S}$ at 50 kOe $\ensuremath{\approx}0.005$ emu/g), ferroelectricity (${P}_{R}\ensuremath{\approx}2\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{nC}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$), and significantly large magnetoelectric coupling (decrease in ${P}_{R}$ by $\ensuremath{\approx}80%$ under $\ensuremath{\approx}15$ kOe field)---in nanorods (diameter $\ensuremath{\approx}100$ nm) of double perovskite ${\mathrm{Y}}_{2}{\mathrm{NiMnO}}_{6}$ compound. In bulk form, this system exhibits multiferroicity only below its magnetic transition temperature ${T}_{N}\ensuremath{\approx}$ 70 K. On the other hand, the oxygen vacancies, formed at the surface region (thickness $\ensuremath{\approx}10$ nm) of the nanorods, yield long-range magnetic order as well as ferroelectricity via Dzyloshinskii-Moriya exchange coupling interactions with strong Rashba spin-orbit coupling. Sharp drop in ${P}_{R}$ under magnetic field indicates strong cross coupling between magnetism and ferroelectricity as well. Observation of room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling in nanoscale for a compound which, in bulk form, exhibits multiferroicity only below 70 K underscores an alternative pathway for inducing magnetoelectric multiferroicity via surface defects and, thus, in line with magnetoelectric property observed, for example, in domain walls or boundaries or interfaces of heteroepitaxially grown thin films which do not exhibit such features in their bulk.

A review on current status and mechanisms of room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics for device applications

A review on current status and mechanisms of room-temperature magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics for device applications

Multiferroic properties and magnetoelectric coupling observed in nanocrystalline HoFeO3

Nanocrystalline holmium orthoferrite (HoFeO3) was synthesized by the chemical sol-gel technique. The main focus of attention was to explore the behavior of nanocrystalline system of HoFeO3 in the context of multiferroicity. Structural investigation by observing X-ray diffractograms and its thorough Rietveld analysis was carried out in detail which confirms the deviation in crystallographic structure. Structural study confirms the pure orthorhombic (Pnma) phase of HoFeO3 with zero impurity including the presence of uniform particle size distribution in the nano regime. Different useful structural parameters were also calculated from this theoretically generated pattern, which help to understand the magnetoelectric behavior explored in the sample. Surface morphology studied by FESEM micrographs confirmed a more or less uniform grain distribution in nano regime. EDAX spectra and mapping confirms the elemental purity. Thermal variation of magnetization measurements of HoFeO3 was carried out under zero-field cooled and field (~200 Oe) cooled conditions. Also, variation of magnetization with field (MH Loop) yields the presence of magnetic ordering with a relatively high value of magnetization compared to its corresponding bulk counterpart. During field-variation, magnetization value wasn’t yet saturated even at the maximum applied field of ~3 T, indicating the presence of magnetic ordering and superparamagnetism. Detailed high-temperature dielectric study including thermal variation, as well as frequency variation of dielectric constant together with related electric parameters provide various important information like ferro to para transition temperature, etc. These observations and various analyzes including Cole-Cole analysis of frequency variation of permittivity, Nyquist plot impedance analysis, etc. provide all dielectric parameters which are essential to understand the dielectric properties of the sample. The studies of ferroelectric loop and presence of room temperature magnetoelectric coupling suggest type-II multiferroicity of the present system of HoFeO3, which is usually not found in the bulk system. Presence of prominent remnant polarization with feeble dielectric loss and substantial magnetization clearly establishes the multiferroic candidature of nanocrystalline HoFeO3. This signature of multiferroicity will definitely strengthen the quality of application of the sample in M-E devices.

Low voltage control of magnetism in BaFe10.2Sc1.8O19/BaTiO3 bilayer epitaxial thin film at temperatures up to 390 K

Electric field control of magnetism (EFCM) at low voltage (≤5 V) and high temperature (≥353 K) is crucial to micro-integrated magnetoelectric devices. In this work, the BaFe10.2Sc1.8O19 (BFSO)/BaTiO3(BTO) bilayer epitaxial thin films are fabricated. Results show that compared to the single BFSO film, there are significant increases in magnetic susceptibility, multiferroic transition temperature (Tcone), and EFCM in BFSO/BTO bilayer films. The room temperature magnetoelectric coupling coefficient in BFSO (80 nm)/BTO (300 nm) bilayer films (189.6 ns/m) is 14.7 times higher than that in the single layer BFSO film and 345 times larger than single crystalline BiFeO3. A change in magnetization ΔM% about 38% at 20 K and 7.1% at 390 K is obtained in the BFSO (80 nm)/BTO (300 nm) bilayer film. Moreover, repeatable low voltage (≤4 V) EFCM with a high signal-to-noise ratio in the BFSO/BTO bilayer film device is verified at temperatures ranging from 20 K to above 390 K. This high temperature EFCM is mainly contributed by the high Tcone of BFSO and strong piezoelectric/magnetostrictive coupling at the BFSO/BTO interface. The above findings enable the potential usage and integration of BFSO/BTO bilayer films into micro-integrated microwave devices.

Room temperature magnetoelectric coupling in Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 by counterbalancing imbalanced spin moments through spin canting

In this study, ferroelectric Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 with an antiferromagnetic polymorph at and below 150 K was converted into a room-temperature magnetoelectrically active multiferroic with soft ferromagnetism by disrupting the existing antiparallel spin alignment of Fe ions through the heavy replacement of Fe by Ni. To maximize the induced soft-ferromagnetic properties and the consequent nonlinear magnetoelectric coupling, the substitution level of Ni should be controlled such that the individual Ni ions are separated from one another to avoid mutual spin cancellation. The induced magnetoelectric coupling was found to originate from the collective contribution of oppositely canted pairs of spins in two nearby Fe3+ ions, which counterbalances the relatively smaller spin moment of the in-between Ni ions. The non-material specific nature of this strategy implies that it can be used in the development of new room-temperature multiferroic perovskite oxides.

Observation of magnetoelectric effect in CuO-doped SrBi4Ti4O15 ceramics

Room temperature magnetoelectric coupling effect was observed in CuO-doped SrBi4Ti4O15 lead-free ferroelectric ceramics. Interstitial doping of CuO resulted in the formation of secondary phases at lower angles, which was confirmed from X-ray diffraction studies. Due to the strong magnetic superexchange interactions of CuO, weak room temperature ferromagnetic hysteresis curve was observed. The highest saturation magnetization of 1.61 memu/g and remnant polarization of 6.21 µC/cm2 was achieved for x = 1 mol% of CuO-doped ceramic. Further, the existence of weak magnetoelectric effect (χE = 0.1352 mVcm-1Oe-1) was also achieved. The obtained weak magnetoelectric effect is due to the presence of spontaneous magnetization and oxygen deficiency in the prepared samples.

Enhanced multiferroic characteristics in hexagonal ScMn1−xFexO3 ceramics

In the present study, enhanced antiferromagnetic characteristics and room temperature magnetoelectric coupling are achieved by Fe-substitution for Mn in h-ScMnO3. The antiferromagnetic Néel temperature (TN) increases from 131 K for ScMnO3 up to 140 K for ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3. Electric field controlled magnetism is confirmed for ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3 at room temperature, combining with the short-range magnetic spin ordering. The Rietveld structural refinement and selected area electron diffraction confirm the noncentrosymmetric P63cm structure for the present ceramics. The ferroelectric domain walls at the atomic scale are determined by the aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy; meanwhile, the spontaneous polarization of 5.6 μC/cm2 is determined. The noticeable magnetoelectric coefficient αME ∼ 0.78 mV/cm Oe (measured under a magnetic field up to 3000 Oe) is obtained in ScMn0.8Fe0.2O3, which is quite stable with the applied magnetic field, reflecting coupling of the short-range spin ordering with the ferroelectric ordering. The enhanced antiferromagnetic behaviors are discussed with the effect of Fe-substitution, which reduce the magnetic frustration and enhance the exchange interaction.