Coexistence of Magnetic Order and Ferroelectricity at 2D Nanosheet Interfaces.
Multiferroic materials, in which the electronic polarization can be switched by a magnetic field and vice versa, are of fundamental importance for new electronic technologies. However, there exist very few single-phase materials that exhibit such cross-coupling properties at room temperature, and heterostructures with a strong magnetoelectric coupling have only been made with complex techniques. Here, we present a rational design for multiferroic materials by use of a layer-by-layer engineering of 2D nanosheets. Our approach to new multiferroic materials is the artificial construction of high-quality superlattices by interleaving ferromagnetic Ti0.8Co0.2O2 nanosheets with dielectric perovskite-structured Ca2Nb3O10 nanosheets. Such an artificial structuring allows us to engineer the interlayer coupling, and the (Ti0.8Co0.2O2/Ca2Nb3O10/Ti0.8Co0.2O2) superlattices induce room-temperature ferroelectricity in the presence of the ferromagnetic order. Our technique provides a new route for tailoring artificial multiferroic materials in a highly controllable manner.
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Bao-Wen
BW
Li
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Minoru
M
Osada
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Yasuo
Y
Ebina
Synchrotron X-ray Station at SPring-8, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Sayo, Hyogo 679-5148, Japan.|Quantum Beam Unit, National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0047, Japan.
Shigenori
S
Ueda
International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS) , Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
Takayoshi
T
Sasaki