Multiferroic hexagonal HoMnO3 films

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The fundamental properties of hexagonal multiferric HoMnO3 films have been thoroughly investigated. The films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on Y:ZrO2(111)
substrates. High quality epitaxial HoMnO3 films of 25 – 1000 nm thickness were successfully prepared. The film properties are compared to those of single-crystals.
The magnetization measurements revealed that the films show a deviating magnetic behavior from the single-crystals in several ways. For instance, the films have a weakened antiferromagnetic Ho3+ order confirmed from magnetic susceptibility. The differences are likely to be related to the modified (mostly larger) lattice parameters of films. An approximate phase diagram in comparison with the single-crystal’s one is constructed. For multiferroicity investigations, Second Harmonic Generation (SHG; in collaboration with the group of M. Fiebig) has been employed. By SHG, the ferroelectric polar order of the films is obviously confirmed. The ferroelectric switching at room temperature could be clearly demonstrated, whereas leakage of films requires generally a more sophisticated approach.