Electric field control of magnetic phase transitions in Ni3V2O8

Abstract

We report on the electric field control of magnetic phase transition temperatures in multiferroic Ni3V2O8 thin films. Using magnetization measurements, we find that the phase transition temperature to the canted antiferromagnetic state is suppressed by 0.2 K in an electric field of 30 MV/m, as compared to the unbiased sample. Dielectric measurements show that the transition temperature into the magnetic state associated with ferroelectric order increases by 0.2 K when the sample is biased at 25 MV/m. This electric field control of the magnetic transitions can be qualitatively understood using a mean field model incorporating a tri-linear coupling between the magnetic order parameters and spontaneous polarization.