Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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MA: Fachverband Magnetismus

MA 20: Multiferroics

MA 20.13: Talk

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 17:15–17:30, EB 202

Coexistence of ferroelectric and long-wavelength magnetic ordering in MnWO₄ — •Dennis Meier¹, Michael Maringer¹, Thomas Lottermoser¹, Gouliang Yuan¹, Petra Becker², Ladislav Bohatý², and Manfred Fiebig¹ — ¹HISKP, Universität Bonn — ²Institut für Kristallographie, Universität zu Köln

The strong interest in magnetoelectric multiferroics is due to their potential concerning the design of novel multifunctional devices, as well as to their unusual physical properties. Among these, TbMnO₃, Ni₃V₂O₈, and MnWO₄ form a particularly challenging group: The key factor for ferroelectricity lies in the long-wavelength magnetic order. However, the nature of the ferroelectric (FE) state in such a spiral magnet and its relation to the magnetic ordering is largely unclear. Here we report about the spatial distribution of FE domains in MnWO₄, revealed by optical second harmonic generation (SHG). Although the spontaneous polarization in this ferroelectric is magnetically induced, 180^∘ domains as in a conventional ferroelectric are observed. This work was supported by the DFG through SFB 608