Statistical distribution of the electric field driven switching of the Verwey state in Fe3O4

TL;DR

This paper investigates how the electric field induces switching in Fe3O4's Verwey state, revealing how temperature and magnetic fields influence the transition's statistical distribution and kinetics.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed statistical analysis of electric field-driven Verwey state switching, highlighting the effects of temperature and magnetic fields on transition distributions.

Findings

Switching voltage histograms broaden at lower temperatures.

External magnetic fields modify switching distributions.

Transition kinetics are influenced by disorder and external fields.

Abstract

The insulating state of magnetite (Fe$_{3}$O$_{4}$) can be disrupted by a sufficiently large dc electric field. Pulsed measurements are used to examine the kinetics of this transition. Histograms of the switching voltage show a transition width that broadens as temperature is decreased, consistent with trends seen in other systems involving "unpinning" in the presence of disorder. The switching distributions are also modified by an external magnetic field on a scale comparable to that required to reorient the magnetization.