Comment on "Epitaxial BiFeO3 multiferroic thin film heterostructures"

Wang et al. recently reported multiferroic behavior, with ferromagnetic and ferroelectric polarizations that are both large at room temperature, in thin strained films of BiFeO3 (BFO). Although at room temperature, bulk BFO is ferroelectric and anti-ferromagnetic (-), Wang et al. reported that a 70-...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2005-02, Vol.307 (5713), p.1203; author reply 1203-1203
Main Authors: Eerenstein, W, Morrison, F D, Dho, J, Blamire, M G, Scott, J F, Mathur, N D
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Wang et al. recently reported multiferroic behavior, with ferromagnetic and ferroelectric polarizations that are both large at room temperature, in thin strained films of BiFeO3 (BFO). Although at room temperature, bulk BFO is ferroelectric and anti-ferromagnetic (-), Wang et al. reported that a 70-nm film shows both an enhanced ferroelectric polarization (90 kC cm-2) and a substantial magnetization (1 kB/Fe). This remains the only report of a robust room-temperature multiferroic and suggests the potential for novel devices that exploit the anticipated strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling between the two ordered ground states. In this Comment, we argue that epitaxial strain does not enhance the magnetization and polarization in BiFeO3.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.1105422