Physics – Condensed Matter – Materials Science
Scientific paper
2010-11-15
Nature Materials, 9, 803 (2010)
Physics
Condensed Matter
Materials Science
photostriction BiFeO3, 4 pages, 4 figures, Nature Materials
Scientific paper
10.1038/nmat2807
Multifunctional oxides are promising materials because of their fundamental physical properties as well as their potential in applications1. Among these materials, multiferroics exhibiting ferroelectricity and magnetism are good candidates for spin electronic applications using the magnetoelectric effect, which couples magnetism and ferroelecticity. Furthermore, because ferroelectrics are insulators with a reasonable bandgap, photons can efficiently interact with electrons leading to photoconduction or photovoltaic effects. However, until now, coupling of light with mechanical degrees of freedom has been elusive, although ferroelasticity is a well-known property of these materials. Here, we report on the observation, for the first time, of a substantial visiblelight- induced change in the dimensions of BiFeO3 crystals at room temperature. The relative light-induced photostrictive effect is of the order of 10e-5 with response times below 0.1s. It depends on the polarization of incident light as well as applied magnetic fields. This opens the perspective of combining mechanical, magnetic, electric and optical functionalities in future generations of remote switchable devices.
Colson Dorothee
Kundys Bohdan
Kundys D. O.
Viret Michel
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