Multiferroic and Magnetoelectric Oxides: The Emerging Scenario

Abstract

Multiferroics were considered to be rare because magnetism and ferroelectricity require entirely different criteria for the materials. Several multiferroic oxides have, however, been discovered in the past few years by virtue of novel operating mechanisms, the most effective one being ferroelectricity driven by magnetism itself. Many such oxides where the magnetic and electric order parameters interact also exhibit magnetoelectric or magnetodielectric properties. In this Perspective, properties of manganites, ferrites, and other monophasic multiferroic oxides with spin-induced electric polarization are described. Multiferroic properties arising from charge ordering are examined. The present status of BiMnO3, which is an unusual example of a ferromagnetic–ferroelectric, is presented. Recent findings suggest that it is likely that many more multiferroic and magnetoelectric oxide materials exhibiting magnetically induced ferroelectricity will be found in the future.