Multiferroic coupling in nanoscale BiFeO3.

Using the results of x-ray and neutron diffraction experiments, we show that the ferroelectric polarization, in ∼22 nm particles of BiFeO3, exhibits a jump by ∼30% around the magnetic transition point TN (∼635 K) and a suppression by ∼7% under 5T magnetic field at room temperature (<TN). These results confirm the presence of strong multiferroic coupling even in nanoscale BiFeO3 and thus could prove to be quite useful for applications based on nanosized devices of BiFeO3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]