Structural features associated with multiferroic behavior in the RX3(BO3)4 system

H Zhang; S Liu; C S Nelson; L N Bezmaternykh; Y-S Chen; S G Wang; R P S M Lobo; K Page; M Matsuda; D M Pajerowski; T J Williams; T A Tyson

doi:10.1088/1361-648X/ab415f

Structural features associated with multiferroic behavior in the RX₃(BO₃)₄ system

J Phys Condens Matter. 2019 Dec 18;31(50):505704. doi: 10.1088/1361-648X/ab415f.

Authors

H Zhang¹, S Liu, C S Nelson, L N Bezmaternykh, Y-S Chen, S G Wang, R P S M Lobo, K Page, M Matsuda, D M Pajerowski, T J Williams, T A Tyson

Affiliation

¹ Department of Physics, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 071022, United States of America.

PMID: 31484172
DOI: 10.1088/1361-648X/ab415f

Abstract

The magnetoelectric effect in the RX₃(BO₃)₄ system (R = Ho, Eu, Sm, Nd, Gd; X = Fe, Al) varies significantly with the cation R despite very similar structural arrangements. Our structural studies reveal a symmetry reducing tilting of the BO₃ planes and of the FeO₆ polyhedra in the systems exhibiting low magnetic field induced electric polarization. Neutron scattering measurements reveal a lack of magnetic ordering indicating the primary importance of the atomic structure in the multiferroic behavior of this system.