2010/05/07 by A. K. Singh, S. D. Kaushik, V. Siruguri +1 · 2 citations
Materials Science · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Condensed Matter Physics #Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials #Multiferroics and related materials #cond-mat.mtrl-sci #cond-mat.str-el
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevb.81.184406
published as Phys. Rev B 81, 184406 (2010)? · 25 pages, 5 figures
openalex publication_date 2010/05/07 · arxiv created 2010/05/22 · arxiv updated 2010/05/25 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Hexagonal YMnO3 with space group P63cm is one of the rare examples of multiferroic materials that exhibit codependence of a robust ferroelectric phase along with antiferromagnetic ordering. This is primarily ascribed to tilting of the MnO5 polyhedra driven by magnetoelectric coupling. We report on the effect of magnetic field at the atomic level in YMnO3 by utilizing magnetic field and temperature-dependent neutron-diffraction measurements. We show that near the N'eel temperature the lattice parameters, effective magnetic moment per site, Mn-O bond lengths, and O-Mn-O bond angles show large variations and these are further modified in the presence of magnetic field. We observe distinct changes with the application of magnetic field in the paramagnetic state both in atomic positions and in the bulk dielectric constant. Our results provide unambiguous confirmation of the role played by exchange striction over and above the much studied magnetoelectric coupling in this frustrated antiferromagnet.