Roomerature spin-spiral multiferroicity in high-pressure cupric oxide

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Xavier Rocquefelte - , Université de Nantes (Author)
  • Karlheinz Schwarz - , Vienna University of Technology (Author)
  • Peter Blaha - , Vienna University of Technology (Author)
  • Sanjeev Kumar - , Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali (Author)
  • Jeroen Van Den Brink - , Chair of Solid State Theory, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research Dresden (Author)

Abstract

Multiferroic materials, in which ferroelectric and magnetic ordering coexist, are of fundamental interest for the development of multi-state memory devices that allow for electrical writing and non-destructive magnetic readout operation. The great challenge is to create multiferroic materials that operate at room temperature and have a large ferroelectric polarization P. Cupric oxide, CuO, is promising because it exhibits a significant polarization, that is, P∼0.1 μC cm -2, for a spin-spiral multiferroic. Unfortunately, CuO is only ferroelectric in a temperature range of 20 K, from 210 to 230 K. Here, by using a combination of density functional theory and Monte Carlo calculations, we establish that pressure-driven phase competition induces a giant stabilization of the multiferroic phase of CuO, which at 20-40 GPa becomes stable in a domain larger than 300 K, from 0 to T>300 K. Thus, under high pressure, CuO is predicted to be a roomerature multiferroic with large polarization.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number2511
JournalNature communications
Volume4
Publication statusPublished - 23 Sept 2013
Peer-reviewedYes