Evolution of the magnetic structure in (Sm,Bi)FeO3 Thin Films

BiFeO3 is a multiferroic, which is ordered at room temperature. In this compound, the magnetic and ferroelectric domains are coupled and magnetic domains can be switched with an electric field [1]. It has recently been found that doping Sm onto the Bi site drives the system from rhombohedral to orthorhombic ordering [2]. Furthermore, near the phase boundary, application of an electric field can drive the material between the two structures. It is an open question as to whether the magnetic structure follows. In this talk, I share our recent neutron diffraction results on the magnetic structure of Sm doped BiFeO3 thin films. [1] T. Zhao, A. Scholl, F. Zavaliche, K. Lee, M. Barry, A. Doran, M. P. Cruz, Y. H. Chu, C. Ederer, N. A. Spaldin, R. R. Das, D. M. Kim, S. H. Baek, C. B. Eom, and R. Ramesh, Nature Materials \textbf{5}, 823 (2006). [2] Daisuke Kan, Ching-Jung Cheng, Valanoor Nagarajan, Ichiro Takeuchi \textbf{110}, 014106 (2011) [3] Daisuke Kan, Lucia Palova, Varatharajan Anbusathaiah, Ching Jung Cheng, Shigehiro Fujino, Valanoor Nagarajan, Karin M. Rabe, Ichiro Takeuchi, Adv. Funct. Mater. \textbf{20}, 1108 (2010).