Coupled magnetic and ferroelectric domains in multiferroic Ni3V2O8

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Aug 21;103(8):087201. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.087201. Epub 2009 Aug 18.

Abstract

Electric control of multiferroic domains is demonstrated through polarized magnetic neutron diffraction. Cooling to the cycloidal multiferroic phase of Ni3V2O8 in an electric field E causes the incommensurate Bragg reflections to become neutron spin polarizing, the sense of neutron polarization reversing with E. Quantitative analysis indicates the E-treated sample has a handedness that can be reversed by E. We further show a close association between cycloidal and ferroelectric domains through E-driven spin and electric polarization hysteresis. We suggest that a definite cycloidal handedness is achieved through magnetoelastically induced Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions.