Mulferroism and Magnetoelectric Coupling in Nanostructured Aurivillius Phase Materials

• Grant number: 24/20319-6
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: March 31, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics - Condensed Matter Physics
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Luis Zabotto
• Grantee: Fabio Luis Zabotto
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/11665-0 - Fabrication and Characterization of Multiferroic Ceramics of the BiFeTi3O15 System Modified with Barium, BP.IC

Abstract

Materials with a magnetoelectric effect have attracted attention due to their potential to integrate properties of high technological applicability, such as ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism, with the ability to manipulate these orders with external fields offering the promise of new, high-performance electronic devices. The large-scale implementation of magnetoelectric coupling devices hinges on the discovery of materials that allow for complete, efficient, and/or controlled magnetization reversal by controlling electric fields, particularly when grown at the nanoscale. This project proposes a systematic investigation of new multiferroic nanostructures at room temperature, based on the pure Bi6Fe2Ti3O15 system and modified in site A (with Ba and Nd) and/or in site B (with Sn, Mn, and Co). These materials, belonging to the bismuth layers structural classification, will be grown using physical deposition techniques. The investigations will seek to correlate the existence of multiferroism and magnetoelectric coupling in nanostructures with the composition, size, and state of the mechanical stress of the nanostructures. The novelty of this research lies in its focus on the induction of the magnetoelectric effect, allowing for a better understanding and correlation between multiferroic coupling and crystalline structure. (AU)