Year: 2011
Type: article
Abstract: By studying the dielectric properties of the geometrically frustrated spinel CdV${}_{2}$O${}_{4}$, we observe ferroelectricity developing at the transition into the collinear antiferromagnetic ground state. In this multiferroic spinel, ferroelectricity is driven by local exchange striction and not by the more common scenario of spiral magnetism. The experimental findings are corroborated by ab initio calculations of the electric polarization and the underlying spin and orbital order. The results point toward a charge rearrangement due to dimerization, where electronic correlations and the proximity to the insulator-metal transition play an important role.
Source: Physical Review B
Institutions: Institute for Complex Systems, National Research Council, Sapienza University of Rome, University of L'Aquila, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biológica y Materiales Moleculares, University of Cologne
Language: Latvian
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1922345447