Ferroelectric and magnetic properties of Dy-doped BaTiO3 films

Element substitution of BaTiO 3 -based compounds has been demonstrated as a powerful way for designing novel electronic materials (such as polar metals and multiferroics). To trigger magnetism into ferroelectric BaTiO 3 ⁠ , general substituted elements are magnetic transition metals (such as Mn, Fe, and Co). The doping effect of rare-earth elements (such as Dy) in BaTiO 3 -based compounds was barely investigated. Here, we report the coexistence of magnetism and electric polarization in epitaxial Dy 0.5 Ba 0.5 TiO 3 films. The single-crystalline films were synthesized by high-pressure magnetron sputtering. The crystal and electronic structures were characterized by high-resolution x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and resonant soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy. Room-temperature electric polarization was demonstrated by optical second-harmonic generation. Temperature-dependent magnetic hysteresis loops were measured to reveal the revolution of magnetism on temperature. Surprisingly, it is uncovered that the Curie temperature of electric-polarized Dy 0.5 Ba 0.5 TiO 3 films is around 100 K, far above the critical temperature of non-polarized DyTiO 3 (near 60 K). Our work provides another view to understand the magnetoelectric materials.