Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT The spin cycloid characteristic of noncollinear antiferromagnets offers significant potential for energy‐efficient, magnon‐mediated spintronic applications. Multiferroic BiFeO 3 is among the most promising candidate materials because its antiferromagnetic order can be controlled by an electric field. However, in epitaxial BiFeO 3 thin films, substrate clamping and epitaxial strain modify the cycloidal magnetic structure while limiting efficient ferroelastic‐ferroelectric switching. Here, we show that strain‐released freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes overcome these limitations. Compared with substrate‐clamped epitaxial thin films, a 100‐nm‐thick freestanding membrane exhibits ≈50% faster electric‐field‐driven ferroelectric switching and a spatially uniform, bulk‐like single spin cycloid, as revealed by resonant elastic X‐ray scattering. In contrast, the epitaxial thin film exhibits an expanded cycloid periodicity and slower ferroelectric switching dynamics, reflecting the influence of substrate‐induced strain. Freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes therefore overcome substrate‐induced constraints by simultaneously restoring the intrinsic bulk‐like spin cycloid and enabling substantially faster ferroelectric switching. This combination of robust noncollinear antiferromagnetic order and efficient electric‐field switching establishes freestanding BiFeO 3 membranes as a promising magnetoelectric platform for low‐power magnonic and spintronic technologies, while enabling heterogeneous integration with Si‐based devices.
Source: Advanced Functional Materials
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.77954
Language: English
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,790
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Research Foundation, National Research Foundation of Korea, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, Office of Science, Office of Naval Research, Basic Energy Sciences
Awards: G1303726027, Collaborative Research: DMREF: NSF-BSF: Moire-Engineered Oxide Membrane Heterostructures by Design, G1911915008, G222768804, GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ATOMIC LAYER CONTROLLED MGB2 THIN FILMS, G2857271034, GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF ATOMIC LAYER CONTROLLED MGB2 THIN FILMS, G4353487559, G4503428130, G5530506172, G5590387194, G5648016710, G8006577219, Chang-Beom Eom Materials Synthesis Investigator, G8876996369
OpenAlex ID: W7204276843