Suppression of multiferroic order in hexagonal YMn1-xInxO3 ceramics

TL;DR

This study explores how substituting In for Mn in hexagonal YMnO3 affects its antiferromagnetic and multiferroic properties, showing suppression of multiferroic order with increased In content.

Contribution

It provides systematic experimental evidence that In substitution suppresses multiferroic order in YMnO3 without altering the crystal structure.

Findings

Antiferromagnetic transition temperature decreases with In substitution.

Multiferroic phase is suppressed for x≥0.5.

Magnetocapacitive coupling is enhanced by In doping.

Abstract

We have investigated the effects of substituting In for Mn on the antiferromagnetic phase transition in YMnO3 using magnetic, dielectric, and specific heat measurements. We prepared a set of isostructural phase pure hexagonal YMn$_{1-x}$In$_{x}$O$_{3}$ samples having x=0 to x=0.9, which exhibit a systematic decrease of the antiferromagnetic ordering temperature with increasing In content. The multiferroic phase, which develops below TN, appears to be completely suppressed for x$\geq$0.5 in the temperature range investigated, which can be attributed solely to the dilution of magnetic interactions as the crystal structure remains hexagonal. Similar to previous reports, we find an enhancement of the magnetocapacitive coupling on dilution with non-magnetic ions.