Switchable third ScFeO3 polar ferromagnet with YMnO3-type structure

Polar magnets are important materials in fundamental science and technology. However, the requirements for a polar nature are generally incompatible with those for magnetism, and thus there are few polar magnets. At the order and disorder boundaries of cations in ABO3 compounds, two polar ferromagnets of ScFeO3 with polar-corundum-type and LiNbO3-type structures were previously prepared by high-pressure synthesis. Here, we prepared a third ScFeO3 polar ferromagnet with an YMnO3-type structure using a heteroepitaxial film technique and characterized its physical properties. The YMnO3-type ScFeO3 film on a perovskite electrode showed a ferroelectric P–E hysteresis loop with Pr ∼ 4.9 μC cm−2. Only YMO-type ScFeO3 has switchable polarization by the external electric field among the three ScFeO3 polar magnets. Magnetic measurements confirmed weak ferromagnetism (TN = 195 K), which is the highest observed in the hexagonal family.

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