Magnetic Domain-Wall Induced Electric Polarization in NdCrO<sub>3</sub> Polycrystalline Ceramic

oleh: Songwei Wang, Yang Bai, Xin Zhang, Liguo Fan, Huaiying Zhou

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-04-01

Deskripsi

We reported the magnetic, dielectric and magnetoelectric properties of NdCrO<sub>3</sub> polycrystalline ceramics. Magnetization curves revealed two magnetic transitions at 227 K and 38 K, which corresponded to Cr<sup>3+</sup> canted antiferromagnetic ordering and Cr<sup>3+</sup> spin reorientation phase transition, respectively. At 11.5 K, a Schottky-type anomaly was observed, caused by Nd<sup>3+</sup> ground doublet Zeeman splitting. High-temperature dielectric relaxation exhibited a type of thermally activated relaxation process, which mainly resulted from the Maxwell–Wagner effect. The spin-reorientation of Cr<sup>3+</sup> ions and the Nd<sup>3+</sup> ground doublet splitting were observed to be accompanied by an electric polarization. The polarization could be induced by the presence of the antiferromagnetic-type domain walls, which led to spatial inversion symmetry breaking.