Ferroelectrically induced weak-ferromagnetism in a single-phase multiferroic by design

TL;DR

This paper proposes a design strategy for multiferroic oxides where ferroelectric polarization induces weak ferromagnetism, enabling electric control of magnetization direction through first-principles calculations.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach to engineer multiferroics with switchable weak ferromagnetism driven by lattice polarization, identified via density-functional theory.

Findings

Identification of candidate multiferroic oxides

Demonstration of electric-field-controlled magnetization switching

Elucidation of the polarization and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction interplay

Abstract

We present a strategy to design structures for which a polar lattice distortion induces weak ferromagnetism. We identify a large class of multiferroic oxides as potential realizations and use density-functional theory to screen several promising candidates. By elucidating the interplay between the polarization and the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya vector, we show how the direction of the magnetization can be switched between 180$^{\circ}$ symmetry equivalent states with an applied electric field.