Charge ordering, ferroelectric, and magnetic domains in LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} observed by scanning probe microscopy
- Department of Physics, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of)
- YE Team, Samsung Electronics, 1 Samsungjeonja-Ro, Hwaseong 445-330 (Korea, Republic of)
- Laboratory of Pohang Emergent Materials, POSTECH, 77 Cheongam-Ro, Pohang 790-784 (Korea, Republic of)
LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is a multiferroic system which exhibits charge order, ferroelectricity, and ferrimagnetism simultaneously below ∼230 K. The ferroelectric/charge order domains of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} are imaged with both piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and electrostatic force microscopy (EFM), while the magnetic domains are characterized by magnetic force microscopy (MFM). Comparison of PFM and EFM results suggests that the proposed ferroelectricity in LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is not of usual displacive type but of electronic origin. Simultaneous characterization of ferroelectric/charge order and magnetic domains by EFM and MFM, respectively, on the same surface of LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} reveals that both domains have irregular patterns of similar shape, but the length scales are quite different. The domain size is approximately 100 nm for the ferroelectric domains, while the magnetic domain size is much larger and gets as large as 1 μm. We also demonstrate that the origin of the formation of irregular domains in LuFe{sub 2}O{sub 4} is not extrinsic but intrinsic.
- OSTI ID:
- 22398903
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 15; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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