Quantitative Probes for Dynamics in Multiferroic Complex Oxides

非技术描述：最近在设计和制造薄膜能力方面的发展已经导致了对结合理想磁性和电子特性的材料的新程度的控制。这些多铁性材料具有长程磁序和电序，并允许两种现象相互作用。多铁性的前景在于结合磁性和电序可以产生新的电子和光子器件的可能性。这项资助的工作是基于新的多铁体磁性实验探针，它将允许同时探测磁性、结构和铁电性。这些探针是基于x射线显微镜和使用同步辐射的衍射，这使得埋在电极下的多铁薄膜可以被研究。研究多铁性薄膜磁性的起源和结构以及磁场与电场的相互作用，将使多铁性得到更充分的发展和利用。最终，这项研究的结果可能会导致基于优化薄膜中电和磁现象相互作用的传感器，致动器和磁性器件。研究生和本科生将部分在拥有先进x射线表征技术的国家机构工作，并努力进一步发展这些技术。技术细节：在多铁氧化物中，磁序和铁电极化之间的关系有望成为一种利用外加电场操纵磁性的方法。这项拨款支持开发硬x射线显微镜探针，用于在外加电场下多铁氧化物薄膜的磁性和铁电性。在Fe - K吸收边缘的共振磁散射将用于确定多铁铋氧化铁薄膜中存在的磁顺序以及磁场如何在电场中演变。x射线衍射的结构特异性将同时允许由于压电和极化开关引起的结构变化得到解决。了解多铁体的磁性和铁电性将有助于开发铋氧化铁的潜力和设计改进的材料。参与该项目的学生将与国家同步加速器光设施的科学家进行科学合作。这项工作还将涉及本科生研究人员的高度参与。本研究的所有参与者将进行外展活动，包括发展共振散射背后概念的演示。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:Recent developments in the capability to design and fabricate thin films have led to a new degree of control over materials combining desirable magnetic and electronic properties. These multiferroic materials have both long-range magnetic and electrical order and allow the two phenomena to interact. The promise of multiferroics lies in the possibility that combining both magnetism and electrical order can result in new electronic and photonic devices. The work funded by this grant is based on new experimental probes for magnetism in multiferroics that will allow magnetism, structure, and ferroelectricity of to be probed simultaneously. These probes are based on x-ray microscopy and diffraction using synchrotron radiation, which allows multiferroic thin films buried beneath electrodes to be studied. Addressing the origin and structure of the magnetism in multiferroic thin films and the interaction of magnetism with electric fields will allow multiferroic to be more fully developed and exploited. Ultimately, the results of this research could lead to sensors, actuators, and magnetic devices based on optimizing the interaction of electrical and magnetic phenomena in thin films. Graduate and undergraduate students will work in part at national facilities with advanced x-ray characterization techniques and work to develop these techniques further.TECHNICAL DETAILS:The relationship between magnetic order and ferroelectric polarization in multiferroic oxides holds promise as a way to manipulate magnetism with applied electric fields. This grant supports the development of hard x-ray microscopy probes for the magnetism and ferroelectricity of multiferroic oxide thin films under applied electric fields. Resonant magnetic scattering at the Fe K absorption edge will be used to determine what magnetic order exists in multiferroic bismuth iron oxide thin films and how the magnetism evolves in electric fields. The structural specificity of x-ray diffraction will simultaneously allow changes in structure due to piezoelectricity and polarization switching to be addressed. Understanding the magnetism and ferroelectricity of multiferroics will aid in exploiting the potential of bismuth iron oxide and in designing improved materials. The students involved in this project will participate in scientific collaborations with scientists at national synchrotron light facilities. The work will also involve a high degree of participation by undergraduate researchers. All of the participants in this research will conduct outreach activities including developing of demonstrations of the concepts behind resonant scattering.