In this work, we report the growth and functional characterizations of multiferroic TbMnO3 thin films grown on Nb-doped SrTiO3 (001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition. By performing detailed magnetic and ferroelectric properties measurements, we demonstrate that the multiferroicity of spin origin known in the bulk crystals can be successfully transferred to TbMnO3 thin films. Meanwhile, anomalous magnetic transition and unusual magnetoelectric coupling related to Tb moments are observed, suggesting a modified magnetic configuration of Tb in the films as compared to the bulk counterpart. In addition, it is found that the magnetoelectric coupling enabled by Tb moments can even be seen far above the Tb spin ordering temperature, which provides a larger temperature range for the magnetoelectric control involving Tb moments.
Keywords: dielectric; magnetism; magnetoelectric effect; multiferroicity; thin film.