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Double spirals in multiferroic h-ScFeO<sub>3</sub> film

ORAL

Abstract

Double-spiral-like screw dislocations, were investigated in epitaxially grown multiferroic h-ScFeO3 films, and the formation was attributed to the coalescence of the antiphase boundaries. The change of critical thickness for the formation of screw dislocations on different substrates indicates that competition between interfacial energy and surface energy dominates the coalescence process. Based on graph theory analysis, the evolution of the screw dislocation networks during annealing follows the scaling law for the annihilation of paired screws with opposite chirality. Combining in-situ RHEED and kinematic simulations, the weakly distorted surface and dependence of double spirals with hexagonal phase were investigated. In the context of improper multiferroic hexagonal ferrites, the screw dislocations are expected to pin down magnetic and ferroelectric vortices simultaneously because both the spontaneous polarization and the magnetization are along the dislocation line.

Presenters

  • Xin Li

    Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Authors

  • Xin Li

    Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Xiaoshan Xu

    University of Nebraska - Lincoln, Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

  • Yu Yun

    Department of Physics and Astronomy & Nebraska Center for Materials and Nanoscience, University of Nebraska - Lincoln, University of Nebraska - Lincoln