Investigation of true remnant polarization response in heterostructured artificial biferroics

Abstract

Epitaxial bilayered thin films composed of ferromagnetic La_0.6Sr_0.4MnO₃ and ferroelectric 0.7Pb (Mg_1/3Nb_2/3)O₃-0.3(PbTiO₃) were fabricated on LaAlO₃ (100) substrates by pulsed laser ablation. Ferroelectric, ferromagnetic and magneto-dielectric characterizations performed earlier indicated the possible existence of strain-mediated magneto-electric coupling in these biferroic heterostructures. In order to investigate their true remnant polarization characteristics, usable in devices, room-temperature polarization versus electric field, positive-up negative-down (PUND) pulse polarization studies and remnant hysteresis measurements were carried out. The PUND and remnant hysteresis measurements revealed the significant contribution of the non-remnant component in the observed polarization hysteresis response of these heterostructures.