Magnetoelectric Multiferroics:
Researchers have identified a unique mechanism of electric polarisation via magnetic ordering in a novel mineral named “MnBi2S4”, which can be useful for energy-efficient data storage.
- Magnetoelectric multiferroics are a special class of materials popular among the research fraternity for their rarity and unique properties.
- These materials can exhibit both magnetism and ferroelectricity simultaneously.
- For advanced technology applications like spintronics, electronic memory devices, and other electronic components like actuators and switches.
- MnBi2S4 is also known as mineral graţianite and belongs to the ternary manganese chalcogenide family.
- It has distinct magnetic structures in the material, including a spin density wave, as well as cycloidal and helical spin structures.
- Importantly, they found that the last two spin structures induced ferroelectricity in the material.
- It is also known to be centrosymmetric and undergoes magnetic ordering at low temperatures (27, 23, and 21.5 Kelvins).
