Room-temperature multiferroicity in GaFeO3 thin film grown on (100)Si substrate

Abstract

Room-temperature magnetoelectric multiferroicity has been observed in c-axis oriented GaFeO3 thin films (space group [Formula: see text]), grown on economic and technologically important (100)Si substrates by a pulsed laser deposition technique. Structural analysis and comprehensive mapping of the Ga:Fe ratio across a length scale range of 104 reveals coexistence of epitaxial and chemical strain. It induces formation of finer magnetic domains and large magnetoelectric coupling—a decrease in remanent polarization by [Formula: see text]% under [Formula: see text] kOe. Magnetic force microscopy reveals the presence of both finer ([Formula: see text] nm) and coarser ([Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]m) magnetic domains. Strong multiferroicity in epitaxial GaFeO3 thin films, grown on a (100)Si substrate, brighten the prospect of their integration with Si-based electronics and could pave the way for development of economic and more efficient electromechanical, electrooptic, or magnetoelectric sensor devices.