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Weak Magnetism of Aurivillius-Type Multiferroic Thin Films Probed by Polarized Neutron Reflectivity
Published
Author(s)
Xioafang Zhai, Alexander Grutter, Yu Yun, Zhangzhang Cui, Yalin Lu
Abstract
Unambiguous magnetic characterization of room-temperature multiferroic materials remains challenging due in part to difficulty of distinguishing their very weak ferromagnetism from magnetic impurity phases and other containments. In this study, we used polarized neutron reflectivity to probe the magnetization of the Bi6FeCoTi3O18 and LaBi5FeCoTi3O18 in their epitaxial thin films while eliminating a variety of impurity contributions. Our results show that LaBi5FeCoTi3O18 exhibits a magnetization of about 0.016 ±0.027 υΒ per Fe-Co pair at room temperature. While the Bi6FeCoTi3O18 thin film only exhibits weak magnetic moment below room temperature, with a saturation magnetization of 0.049 ± 0.015 υΒ per Fe-Co pair at 50 K. This polarized-neutron-reflectivity study places an upper magnetization limit on the matrix material of the Aurivillius oxides and helps to clarify the true mechanism behind the room temperature multiferroic performance.
Zhai, X.
, Grutter, A.
, Yun, Y.
, Cui, Z.
and Lu, Y.
(2018),
Weak Magnetism of Aurivillius-Type Multiferroic Thin Films Probed by Polarized Neutron Reflectivity, Physical Review Materials, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=925153
(Accessed October 14, 2025)