Multiferroicity in half-Cr-doped YMnO3 epitaxial films with compressive strain.

We report on the growth and characterization of epitaxial (010)- and (100)-YMn0.5Cr0.5O3 films on the corresponding YAlO3 substrates. It is found that the magnetic transition temperature increases from 75K for the bulk sample to 120K for the compressive-strained films. Along the c- and aaxes, ferroelectric polarization develops below 120K with the saturation values of 0.17 and 0.05 μC/cm², respectively, while it remains zero along the b-axis. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the ferroelectric polarization can be modulated by magnetic field. The displayed ferroelectricity is explainable by considering coexistence of the predominant bc-cycloidal and minor E-type antiferromagnetic orders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]