After the prediction of magnetoelectric effect in Cr2O3, in early 1960's, D. Asrov became the first to experimentally verify this phenomenon. After the pioneering work on magnetoelectric materials in 1960's and 1970's, the discovery of large magnetoelectric effect in orthorhombic rare-earth manganite TbMnO3 has revived great interest in magnetoelectric materials, especially during the last decade. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have great potential in applications such as novel memory storage devices and sensors. As a result of extensive theoretical and experimental investigations conducted on rare-earth magnetoelectric manganites, TbMnO3 has become a prototype magnetoelectric multiferroic material. Orthorhombic rare-earth manganites RMnO3 (R = Gd, Tb and Dy) exhibit improper ferroelectricity where the origin of ferroelectricity is purely magnetic in nature. RMnO3 exhibit diverse and complex magnetic interactions and phases. Doped manganites of the type R1-xAxMnO3 (A = Ca, Sr and Ba) present a rich magnetic and electronic phase diagram. The doping concentration, average ion-size and size mismatch (i.e. disor-der) at A-site, all contribute to determine the ground state. A variety of magnetic phases, competing with each other, are responsible for many functional properties like magnetoelectric effect, colossal magnetoresistance (CMR), magnetostriction and magnetocaloric effect (MCE). In this context, studies of magnetoelectric materials are of great relevance from technical as well as fundamental aspects. Notably, complexity of electronic (and magnetic) phases and experimental difficulties in acquiring reliable measurement-data easily are the most concerning issues in establishing a clear understanding of magnetoelectric materials. In the magnetic phase diagram of RMnO3, GdMnO3 lies on the border between A-type antiferromagnetic and cycloidal antiferromagnetic ground states. Cycloidal spin arrangement is responsible for the induction of ferroelectricity in these materials. There are disparate opinions about the ground state of GdMnO3 (whether the ground state is ferroelectric or not). Understanding of the influence of rare-earth magnetic sublattice on magnetism in GdMnO3 (at low temperature) lacks clarity till date. Neutron scattering studies on GdMnO3 due to high absorption cross-section of Gd ion, yield little success in determining the nature of complex magnetic phases in this material. Interestingly, an earlier report on strontium-substituted gadolinium manganite Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 demonstrated the spontaneous electric polarization and related magnetoelectric effect. It was hypothesized that the observed ferroelectricity could be improper and electronic in nature. Strontium doping facilitates quenched disorder that leads to interesting magnetic phases and phase transitions. In order to understand the physical properties of gadolinium manganites and to unravel the relationship between them, it is essential to investigate high quality single crystals of these materials. This thesis deals with growth and investigation of several important physical phenomena of gadolinium manganites such as magnetic, electric, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties. The thesis is organized in seven chapters. A brief summary of each chapter follows: Chapter:1 This chapter provides general introduction to magnetoelectric effect and multiferroicity. The term multiferroicity refers to simultaneous existence of magnetic and electric ordering in a single phase material. Magnetoelectric multiferroics have shown great potential for several applications. They exhibit cross coupling between the electronic and magnetic order parameters, hence basics of various magnetic interactions (and magnetism) are brie y discussed in the rst section of the chapter. It is followed by a brief discussion about the principle of magnetoelectric effect. Magnetoelctric coupling is broadly classified into two types namely, direct coupling and indirect coupling. In the former, the emphasis is given on linear magnetoelectric effect. The concept of multiferroicity is introduced in the next section followed by a brief overview and application potential of multiferroics. Further, classi cation scheme of multiferroic materials is discussed. The concept of improper ferroelectricity and description of subcategories namely, magnetic ferroelectric, geometric ferroelectric and electronic ferroelectric are documented. Magnetic ferroelectric category is considered the most relevant; featuring the type of ferroelectric material as GdMnO3 referred in this thesis. The microscopic theory for mechanism of ferroelectricity in spiral antiferromagnets is presented. While brie ng the thermodynamic background of the magnetocaloric effect, indirect estimation of two important characteristics namely, isothermal magnetic entropy change (∆SM ) and adiabatic change in temperature (∆Tad) under the application of magnetic field are dealt with. In the last part of the chapter, motivation and scope of the thesis is discussed. Chapter:2 This chapter outlines various experimental methodologies adopted in this work. It describes the basic principles of various experimental techniques and related experimental apparatuses used. The chapter starts with the synthesis tech-niques used in the preparation of different compounds studied. The principle of oat-zone method, employed for single-crystal growth, is described. Orientation of single crystals was determined using a home-built back- reflection Laue set up. The basics of Laue reflection and indexing procedure for recorded Laue photographs are described. Various physical properties (electric, magnetic, thermal, magnetoelectric and magnetocaloric properties) were studied using commercial as well as home-built experimental apparatuses. Design and working principle of all the experimental tools are outlined in this chapter. Fabrication details, interfacing of measurement instruments and calibration (standardization) of equipment used in this work are described in appropriate sections. Chapter:3 Chapter-3 describes the investigation of various physical properties of high quality single crystals of magnetoelectric multiferroics, GdMnO3. Synthesis of GdMnO3 is carried out using solid state synthesis route. Single phase nature of the material is confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction technique. Single crystals of GdMnO3 are grown in argon ambience using oat-zone method. As grown crystals are oriented with the help of back-reflection Laue method. GdMnO3 exhibits incommensurate collinear antiferromagnetic phase below 42 K and transforms to canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase below 23 K. Magnetic and specific heat studies have revealed very sharp features near the magnetic transitions which also confirm the high quality of the single crystal. dc magnetization studies illustrate the anisotropic behavior in canted A-type antiferromagnetic phase and clarifies the influence of rare-earth magnetic sub-lattice on overall magnetism (at low temperature). Application of magnetic field (above 10 kOe) along `b' axis helps formation of the cycloidal antiferromagnetic phase. Here, spontaneous electric polarization is induced along `a' axis. The temperature variation plot of dielectric constant, ϵa (under ap- plied magnetic field along `b' axis) shows sharp anomalies in the vicinity of magnetic ordering transitions suggesting magnetodielectric effects. Magnetic field tuning of electric polarization establish the magnetoelectric nature of GdMnO3. Magnetocaloric properties of single crystals of GdMnO3 are investigated using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. The magnitude of the giant magnetocaloric effect observed is compared with that of other rare-earth manganite multiferroics. Magnetocaloric studies shed light on magnetic ordering of rare-earth ion Gd3+. The phenomenon of inverse magnetocaloric effect observed at low temperature and under low fields is possibly linked to the ordering of Gd3+ spins. Complex interactions between the 3d and 4f magnetic sublattices are believed to influence magnetocaloric properties. Chapter:4 The details of synthesis and single crystal growth of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 using oat-zone method are presented in Chapter 4. Single phase nature of the material is veri ed by carrying out powder x-ray diffraction analysis and confirmation of single crystallinity and orientation through back-reflection Laue method. Electric transport studies reveal semiconductor-like nature of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 until the lowest temperature achieved. This is due to charge localization process which occurs concurrently with decrease in temperature. Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 exhibits charge-ordered insulator (COI) phase below 90 K (ac-cording to an earlier report). It is found that under application of magnetic field above a critical value, charge ordering melts and the phase transforms to ferromagnetic metallic (FMM) phase. This transformation is first-order in nature with associated CMR (109%). The first-order phase transition (FOPT) occurs between competing COI and FMM phases and manifests as hysteresis across the FOPT. Strontium doping at A-site induces a large size mismatch at A-site resulting in high quenched disorder in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The disorder plays a significant role in CMR as well as glass-like dynamics within the low-temperature magnetic phase. ac susceptibility studies and dynamic scaling analysis reveal very slow dynamics inside the low-temperature magnetic phase (below 32 K). According to an earlier report, spontaneous electric polarization and magnetoelectric effect were pronounced near FOPT (at 4.5 K and 100 kOe) between COI and FMM phases. It is prudent to investigate FOPT across COI and FMM phases in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 to understand complex magnetic phases present. Thermodynamic limits of the FOPT (in magnetic field - temperature (H-T) plane), such as supercooling and superheating, are experimentally determined from magnetization and magnetotransport measurements. Interestingly, thermomagnetic anomalies such as open hysteresis loops are observed while traversing the FOPT isothermally or isomagnetically in the H-T plane. These anomalies point towards incomplete phase transformation while crossing the FOPT. Phenomenological model of kinetic arrest is invoked to understand these anomalies. The model put for-ward the idea that while cooling across the FOPT, extraction of specific heat is easier than that of latent heat. In other words, phase transformation across FOPT is thermodynamically allowed but kinetics becomes very slow and phase transformation does not occur at the conventional experimental time scale. Magnetization relaxation measurements (at 89 kOe) with field-cooled magnetization protocol reveal that the relaxation time constant rst decreases with temperature and later, increases non-monotonically below 30 K. This qualita-tive behavior indicates glass-like arrest of the FOPT. Further, thermal cycling studies of zero field-cooled (ZFC) and eld-cooled (FC) magnetization indicate that a low temperature phase prepared with ZFC and FC protocols (at 89 kOe) is not at equilibrium. This confirms the kinetic arrest of FOPT and formation of magnetic phase similar to glass. Chapter:5 Chapter-5 deals with the investigation of the effect of an electric field on charge ordered phase in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 single crystals. As discussed in the previous chapter, application of magnetic field above a critical value collapses the charge ordered phase which transforms to FMM phase. In this view, it is interesting to investigate effect of electric field on the charge ordering. There are various reports on doped manganites such as Pr1-xCaxMnO3 (x = 0:3 to 0:4) that claim melting of charge ordering under application of electric field (or current) above a critical value. In this thesis work, current - voltage (I - V) characteristics of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 are studied at various constant temperatures. Preliminary measurements show that the I-V characteristics are highly non-linear and are accompanied by the onset of negative differential resistance (NDR) above a critical current value. However, we suspect a major contribution of Joule heating in realization of the NDR. Continual I - V loop measurements for five loops revealed thermal drag and that the onset of NDR shifts systematically towards high current values until it disappeared in the current window. Two strategies were employed to investigate the role of Joule heating in realization of NDR: 1) monitoring the sample surface temperature during electric transport measurement and 2) reducing of the Joule heating in a controlled manner by using pulsed current I - V measuremenets. By tuning the duty cycle of the current pulses (or in other words, by controlling the Joule heating in the sample), it was feasible to shift the onset of NDR to any desired value of the current. At low magnitude of the duty cycle in the current range upto 40 mA, the NDR phenomenon did not occur. These experiments concluded that the NDR in Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 is a consequence of the Joule heating. Chapter:6 `Chapter-6 deals with the thermal and magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 oriented single crystals. Magnetocaloric properties of Gd0.5Sr0.5MnO3 have been studied using magnetic and magnetothermal measurements. Tempera-ture variation of ∆SM is estimated for magnetic field change of 0 - 70 kOe. The eld 70 kOe is well below the critical magnetic eld required for FOPT between COI and FMM phases. Magnetzation - field (M-H) loop shows minimal hysteresis for measurements up to 70 kOe. The minimal hysteresis behavior al-lows one to make fairly accurate estimation of magnetocaloric properties. ∆Tad was separately estimated from specific heat measurements at different magnetic fields. Specific heat studies show the presence of Schottky-like anomaly at low temperature. Chapter:7 Finally, Chapter-7 summarizes various experimental results, analyses and conclusions. A broad outlook of the work in general with future scope of research in this area are outlined in this chapter.

Les matériaux multiferroïques et/ou magnétoélectriques sont riches en promesses de nouvelles applications, comme par exemple des mémoires quatre états à densité accrue ou des mémoires magnétoélectriques à faible consommation d’énergie. Ces promesses restent cependant pour l’instant lettres mortes en raison du très faible nombre de matériaux présentant ces propriétés à température ambiante, et des forts courants de fuite qu’ils présentent en couches minces. Cette thèse porte sur un matériau prometteur en termes d’applications, car magnétoélectrique et ferrimagnétique à température ambiante, le ferrite de gallium de composition Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 (GFO).Nous avons démontré la possibilité de réduire les courants de fuite et moduler à volonté le type de conduction n ou p dans les couches minces de cet oxyde transparent, semi-conducteur, et magnétique, par dopage par des ions Ni2+. Une optimisation de la croissance de GFO par pulvérisation cathodique a par ailleurs montré qu’il était possible de le déposer sous champ électrique, ce qui ouvre d’intéressantes perspectives pour l’optimisation de la polarisation électrique des couches minces. / The multiferroic and/or magnetoelectric materials are full of promises in terms of new applications, such as for example higher density four state memories or lower power consuming magnetoelectric memories. These promises are however actually put off because too few materials present these properties at room temperature and because their thin films present too high leakage currents. This thesis focusses on a room temperature magnetoelectric and ferrimagnetic material promising in terms of applications, the gallium ferrite Ga0.6Fe1.4O3 (GFO).We have demonstrated the possibility to strongly reduce the leakage currents and perfectly tune from n to p the conduction type in transparent, semi-conducting, and magnetic thin films of GFO through Ni2+ doping. The optimization of the growth of GFO thin films by sputtering has moreover shown the possibility of deposition under an electric field, which opens ways to control of the electric polarization of the films.

Notre étude porte sur des matériaux à effets relativistes importants. L'hamiltonien semi-relativiste, couplé aux équations de Maxwell (EM), permet de déduire les sources de courant et de densité, incluant des termes de second ordre (polarisations de spin et de Darwin). Différents modèles sont développés par expansion des EM. L'étude ab initio montre que (1) le désordre atomique peut produire le ferrimagnétisme (FM) dans GaFeO3 (GFO) multiferroïque, (2) les états 3d Fe des octaèdres déformés ont une levée de dégénérescence tétraédrique (théorie du champ cristallin), (3) la polarisation électrique concorde avec l'expérience, (4) le mécanisme magnétoélectrique (ME) direct est insuffisant pour expliquer le ME observé. Pour Cr2O3, le calcul de l'état massif sous contraintes biaxiales n'explique pas son FM, la taille de l'échantillon ou l'excès d'oxygène pourrait de fait être important. Enfin, nous avons développé le XAS et le XMCD dans le code VASP et calculé ces spectres pour GFO. / We studied the physics of materials where relativistic effects are important. We first coupled the semi-relativistic Hamiltonian with the Maxwell's equations, and derived the current and density sources, which included second-order terms like the spin and Darwin polarizations. Different models were developed, by expanding the Maxwell's equations. We then performed ab initio studies to explain (1) site disorders as the origin of ferrimagnetism in multiferroic GaFeO3 (GFO), (2) crystal-field theory where the Fe 3d states at the deformed octahedra have tetrahedral splittings, (3) the electric polarization as a function of temperature, and (4) the insufficiency of the direct magnetoelectric (ME) mechanism to explain observed ME behavior. For Cr2O3, bulk calculations for different biaxial strains failed to explain its ferromagnetism, indicating that size or excess-O effects might be important. Finally, we implemented XAS and XMCD in VASP and computed these spectra for GFO.

The fundamental properties of hexagonal multiferric HoMnO3 films have been thoroughly investigated. The films are grown by pulsed laser deposition on Y:ZrO2(111) substrates. High quality epitaxial HoMnO3 films of 25 { 1000 nm thickness were successfully prepared. The film properties are compared to those of single-crystals. The magnetization measurements revealed that the films show a deviating magnetic behavior from the single-crystals in several ways. For instance, the films have a weakened antiferromagnetic Ho3+ order confirmed from magnetic susceptibility. The difierences are likely to be related to the modified (mostly larger) lattice parameters of films. An approximate phase diagram in comparison with the single-crystal's one is constructed. For multiferroicity investigations, Second Harmonic Generation (SHG; in collaboration with the group of M. Fiebig) has been employed. By SHG, the ferroelectric polar order of the films is obviously confirmed. The ferroelectric switching at room temperature could be clearly demonstrated, whereas leakage of films requires generally a more sophisticated approach. / Die fundamentalen Eigenschaften von hexagonalen multiferroischen HoMnO3 Schichten werden eingehend untersucht. Die dünnen Schichten wurden mittels gepulster Laserdeposition auf Y:ZrO2(111)-Substraten gewachsen. Hochwertige epitaktische HoMnO3-Dünnschichten von 25 { 1000 nm Dicke wurden erfolgreich hergestellt. Die Dünnschichteigenschaften werden mit denen von Einkristallen verglichen. Die Magnitisierungsmessungen ergeben, dass die dünnen Schichten ein von den Einkristallen in verschiedener Weise abweichendes magnetischen Verhalten zeigen. Zum Beispiel haben die dünnen Schichten eine abgeschwächte antiferromagntetische Ho3+ Ordnung, die durch die magnetische Suszeptibilität bestätigt wird. Die Unterschiede sind wahrscheinlich auf die veränderten (meistens grösseren) Gitterparameter der dünnen Schichten zurückzuführen. Ein Phasendiagramm wird zum Vergleich mit Einkristallen konstruiert. Durch Second Harmonic Generation (SHG; in Zusammenarbeit mit der Gruppe von M. Fiebig) wird die ferroelektrische Ordnung der dünnen Schichten eindeutig bestätigt. Das ferroelektrische Umschalten bei Raumtemperatur kann eindeutig nachgewiesen werden, wobei durch den Leckstrom der dünnen Schichten allgemein eine detailliertere Vorgehensweise benötigt wird.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Preparation and characterization of multiferroic materials in which ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism coexist would be a milestone for functionalized materials and devices. First, electric properties of polyvinylidene (PVDF) films fabricated using the Langmuir-Schaefer method have been studied. Films of different thickness were deposited on silicon substrates and analyzed using several techniques. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed that PVDF films crystallize at an annealing temperature above 130 °C. Polarization versus electric field (PE) ferroelectric measurements were done for samples prepared with electrodes. PE measurements show that the coercivity of the films increases as the maximum applied electric field increases. The coercivity dependence on the frequency of the applied electric field can be fitted as . The results also show that the coercivity decreases with increasing the thickness of PVDF film due to the pinning effect. Next, we have demonstrated that those PVDF properties can be controlled by applying an external magnetic field. Samples were created in a layered heterostructure, starting with a Fe thin film, PVDF above that, and followed by another thin film of Fe. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy was used to study the interface between PVDF polymer films and ferromagnetic iron thin films. Conventional EXAFS was applied to identify the structure of a Fe film sandwiched between two PVDF layers. An electric signal was then applied to the polymer to study the effects polarizing the polymer has on the Fe atoms at the interface. This shows that the Fe atoms diffuse into the PVDF layer at the interface between the two layers. Polarizing the film causes further diffusion of Fe atoms into the polymer. We also found that as the applied magnetic field is changed, the switching of electric polarization for the PVDF displayed a dependence on the external magnetic field. We also noticed that both the coercivity and polarization for the PVDF polymer display hysteretic features as the applied magnetic field is changed. We also found that the thickness of both the iron layers and the PVDF layer has an effect on the magnetoelectric coupling in our samples. The same strain applied to a thicker PVDF layer becomes tougher to flip the polarization compared to a thinner PVDF layer. As the iron film thickness increases, the strain also increases, and the polarization of the PVDF polymer is more easily flipped. We also found that the magnetoelectric sensitivity increases as both the PVDF and iron layers increase in thickness. We have shown that it is possible to control the ferroelectric properties of a PVDF film by tuning the magnetic field in a heterostructure. Our experiments show a coupling between the electric polarization and applied magnetic field in multiferroic heterostructures much larger than any previously reported values. Previous reports have used inorganic materials for the ferroelectric layer. Organic polymers have an electric dipole originating at the molecular level due to atoms with different electronegativity that are free to rotate. To flip the polarization, the chains must rotate and the position of the atoms must change. This increases the force felt locally by those chains. Using this polymer, we are able to increase the magnetoelectric coupling.

Submitted by Angela Maria de Oliveira (amolivei@uepg.br) on 2019-03-14T19:25:14Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Renan Augusto Pontes Ribeiro.pdf: 9570923 bytes, checksum: a291ba63c045a11cb0a642a480367e27 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2019-03-14T19:25:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 811 bytes, checksum: e39d27027a6cc9cb039ad269a5db8e34 (MD5) Renan Augusto Pontes Ribeiro.pdf: 9570923 bytes, checksum: a291ba63c045a11cb0a642a480367e27 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019-02-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / O desenvolvimento da spintrônica tem motivado a busca por novos materiais multiferróicos devido à multifuncionalidade desses compostos associada ao acoplamento entre diferentes ordens ferróicas em uma estrutura cristalina. No presente estudo, propomos a investigação teórica, baseada na Teoria do Funcional de Densidade, dos materiais ATiO3 (A = Mn, Fe, Ni) na estrutura R3c com objetivo de esclarecer o efeito da substituição do cátion A sobre as propriedades estruturais, magnéticas e eletrônicas, bem como descrever diferentes mecanismos de controle das propriedades multiferróicas baseados em arquiteturas de filmes-finos, morfologia e controle de defeitos intrínsecos. Para uma maior compreensão dos efeitos envolvidos nos materiais ATiO3, diferentes funcionais de troca e correlação foram investigados e o funcional PBE0 apresentou os menores desvios, consequentemente, a melhor representação comparado aos resultados experimentais. Com objetivo de investigar as propriedades conectadas a filmes-finos dos materiais ATiO3, propomos uma metodologia inovadora que permite descrever as deformações uni- e biaxial que se originam na região de interface entre o filme e o substrato. Nesse caso, os resultados obtidos indicam que as distorções estruturais induzem uma transição magnética para o NiTiO3, originando ordenamento ferromagnético a partir de um critério magneto-estrutural associado a deformação dos clusters [MO6] que reproduz satisfatoriamente os resultados experimentais reportados na literatura. De modo análogo, para elucidar a relação entre o magnetismo e a morfologia dos materiais ATiO3, combinamos cálculos de Energia de Superfície, Construção de Wulff e um formalismo avançado para descrever o magnetismo superficial considerando a existência de spins não compensados ao longo dos planos polares (100), (001), (101), (012), (111) e apolares (110). Os resultados indicam que a redução do número de coordenação dos metais A e Ti para os planos (001) e (111) resulta na transferência de carga entre os cátions A2+ e Ti4+, originando espécies Ti3+ magnéticas que aumentam o magnetismo superficial ao longo desses planos. Além disso, esse efeito é capaz de induzir uma alteração do caráter eletrônico para esses materiais, permitindo indicar que a clivagem das superfícies contribui para o controle das propriedades eletrônicas, reduzindo o valor de band-gap ou gerando comportamento meio-metálico. Os mapas morfológicos obtidos indicam que o controle da exposição majoritária do plano (001) para obtenção de discos hexagonais induz um aumento do magnetismo superficial para os materiais ATiO3 em acordo com resultados experimentais, além de predizer diferentes morfologias acessíveis com interessantes propriedades magnéticas. Ademais, o efeito de defeitos intrínsecos como vacâncias de oxigênio no bulk e superfície apolar (110) dos materiais ATiO3 foi investigado indicando que a redução do número de coordenação na região do defeito induz que os elétrons remanescentes sejam localizados, principalmente, nos orbitais 3d vazios dos cátions Ti vizinhos, gerando espécies [TiO5]ꞌ e [TiO4]ꞌ (3d1 ) que possibilitam uma interação ferromagnética nos materiais MnTiO3 e FeTiO3. A combinação entre os diferentes mecanismos investigados permitiu estabelecer um guia científico para o estudo teórico de materiais multiferróicos, contribuindo para descrever as potencialidades dos diferentes materiais bem como predizer novos candidatos. / The development of spintronic has motivated the search for new multiferroic materials due to the multifunctionality of these materials that are associated with the coupling of different ferroic orders into a single crystalline structure. In the present study, we propose a theoretical investigation, based on Density Functional Theory, of ATiO3 (A = Mn, Fe, Ni) materials in the R3c structure in order to clarify the effect of A-site cation replacement on the structural, magnetic and electronic properties, as well as to describe a different mechanism to control the multiferroic properties based on thin-film architectures, morphology and point defects. For a more comprehensive overview of the main effects involved on the ATiO3 materials several exchange-correlation functionals were investigated, being the PBE0 the functional with smallest deviations and, consequently, the best representation in comparison to the experimental results. Aiming to describe the main fingerprints related with the creation of ATiO3 thin-films, we propose an innovative methodology that allows to describe the uniaxial and biaxial deformations originated in the interface region between the film and the substrate. In this case, the results indicate that structural distortions induce a magnetic transition for the NiTiO3, originating ferromagnetic ordering from magneto-structural criteria, which is associated to the deformation of the [MO6] clusters that reproduces satisfactorily the experimental results reported in the literature. Similarly, in order to elucidate the relationship between the magnetism and the morphology of the ATiO3 materials, we combined Surface Energy, Wulff Construction, and an advanced formalism to describe surface magnetism by considering the existence of uncompensated spins along the polar planes (100), (001), (101), (012), (111) and non-polar (110). The results indicate that the reduction of the coordination for both A and Ti metals along the (001) and (111) planes induces a charge transfer between the A 2+ and Ti4+ cations, resulting in magnetic Ti3+ species that increase the superficial magnetism along such planes. Moreover, this effect allowed a change in the electronic structure for these materials, allowing to point out that the cleavage of the surfaces contribute to the control of the electronic properties reducing the band-gap value or generating half-metallic behavior. The morphological maps indicated that the control of the major exposure for the (001) surface to obtain hexagonal discsinduces an increase of the superficial magnetism for the ATiO3 materials according to experimental results, besides predicting different accessible morphologies with interesting magnetic properties. In addition, the effect of intrinsic defects such as oxygen vacancies on the bulk and non-polar (110) surface of the ATiO3 materials were investigated, indicating that the reduction of coordination in the defect region induces the localization of the remaining electrons in the empty 3d orbitals of neighboring Ti cations, generating [TiO5]'and [TiO4]' (3d1 ) species that allow a ferromagnetic interaction for MnTiO3 and FeTiO3 materials. The combination of the different mechanisms investigated has allowed to stablish a scientific guide for the theoretical study of multiferroic materials, contributing to describe the potentialities of the different materials as well as to predict new candidates.

Recent findings of multiferroicity and magnetoelectric effects in rare earth manganites have fuelled research in this class of materials. These multiferroics can be structurally divided into two classes – orthorhombic and hexagonal. Especially attractive are TbMnO3, HoMnO3 and DyMnO3. Since the ionic radius of Dy is at the boundary that separates the orthorhombic and hexagonal RMnO3, DyMnO3 can be synthesized in both the structures using different synthesis conditions. In this thesis, DyMnO3 single crystals (both hexagonal and orthorhombic) prepared using optical floating zone furnace are studied through structural, magnetic and thermal properties. The influence of rare earth ion on the magnetic phase transitions is revealed in magnetisation, ac susceptibility and specific heat studies. Moreover, doping RMnO3 (small R) with alkaline earth ions creates an arena to test the interesting physics of spin-glass-like phenomena in manganites that arises due to quenched disorder. In this regard, 50% strontium diluted DyMnO3 could be an ideal system to study the effects of quenched disorder and structural/magnetic inhomogeneities that govern the magnetic phases in manganites. Structural phase-coexistence and ensuing anomalous magnetism in Pr–based manganite Pr0.6Sr0.4MnO3 are also presented in this thesis. Details of how the thesis is organized into eight chapters and a brief summary of each chapter follows: Chapter 1 is an introduction to the physics of manganites which progresses into multiferroics and eventually discusses the spin-glass-like effects arising due to size mismatch. A discussion on the phase-coexistence and its effect on physical properties are also presented. Eventually, the scope of the thesis is outlined in the last section. Chapter 2 outlines the basic experimental methods employed in this thesis work. Chapter 3 describes the details of crystal growth by optical floating zone method. DyMnO3 crystals in both hexagonal and orthorhombic structures are grown by employing the ambience of argon and air respectively. The crystals in the two crystallographic variants are characterized by X ray diffraction, Energy dispersive X ray analysis and Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The crystal structures are refined using Rietveld method with FULLPROF code and found to be P63cm for hexagonal and Pnma for orthorhombic DyMnO3. Details of crystal growth of Dy1−xSrxMnO3 are also presented. The change in ambience has no effect in the crystal structure of this doped manganite. A comparison of the growth of undoped and doped systems is given. In a later section, the crystal growth and structure refinement of Pr0.6Sr0.4MnO3 are discussed and the optimized growth parameters are tabulated for various manganite systems grown in the present work. Chapter 4 deals with the magnetic and thermal characterization of hexagonal and orthorhombic DyMnO3 single crystals. Magnetic measurements reveal the importance of rare earth magnetism in these compounds. The antiferromagnetic transition to a stacked triangular antiferromagnet is discernible from the specific heat studies of hexagonal DyMnO3, which is masked in the bulk magnetisation measurements. Various magnetic transitions pertaining to the antiferromagnetic sinusoidal – spiral – incommensurate magnet, are evident in the magnetisation and specific heat of orthorhombic DyMnO3 which belongs to the class of non-collinear magnets. Chapter 5 deals with basic investigations on the spin-glass-like state in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3. Preliminary dc magnetisation shows indication of spin-glass state as a split in field-cooled and zero-field-cooled magnetisation cycles. Further, the failure of scaling of M(T) with H/T indicates the absence of superparamagnetism in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The dynamic susceptibility and its analysis using the theory of critical slowing down yield exponents pertaining to the spin-glasses. However, a four-order magnitude change is observed in the characteristic spin-flip time. This leads to the assumption that in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3 the spin entities are not atomic spins as in canonical spin-glasses but clusters of spins. The specific heat is analysed for signatures of spin-glass state and is found that a linear term in temperature is essential in fitting the observed data. The crystalline electric fields of Dy ion is also analysed attempting multiple Schottky-levels instead of two. Chapter 6 concerns with the aging experiments performed in the spin-glass-like state in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3. Striking aging and chaos effects are observed through these measurements. However, owing to the clusters of spins present, deviations from the typical time-dependent behavior seen in canonical spin-glass materials are anticipated in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3. In fact, the relaxation measurements indicate that the glassy magnetic properties are due to a cooperative and frustrated dynamics in a heterogeneous or clustered magnetic state. In particular, the microscopic spin flip time obtained from dynamical scaling near the spin-glass transition temperature is four orders of magnitude larger than microscopic times found in atomic spin-glasses. Magnetic viscosity, deduced from the waiting time dependence of the zero field cooled magnetisation, exhibits a peak at a temperature T<Tsg. Waiting time experiments prove that the dynamics is collective and that the observed memory effects are not due to superparamagnetism of separate magnetic entities. Chapter 7 discusses the Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies on single crystals of DyMnO3 in hexagonal as well as orthorhombic structures. The interesting effect of strontium dilution on the frustrated antiferromagnetism of DyMnO3 is also probed using EPR. The lineshapes are fitted to broad Lorentzian in the case of pure DyMnO3 and to modified Dysonian in the case of Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3. The linewidth, integrated intensity and geff derived from the signals are analysed as a function of temperature. The EPR results corroborate well with the magnetisation measurements. The study clearly reveals the signature of frustrated magnetism in pure DyMnO3 systems. It is found that antiferromagnetic correlations in these systems persist even above the transition. Moreover, a spinglass-like behaviour in Dy0.5Sr0.5MnO3 is indicated by a step-like feature in the EPR signals at low fields. Chapter 8 deals with the magnetic and electrical properties of Pr0.6Sr0.4MnO3 single crystals. This crystal undergoes two prominent phase transitions – a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic at Tc~300 K and a structural transition at Tstr ~ 64 K. These phase transitions are evident in the static magnetisation as well as in frequency-dependent susceptibility. In these measurements, the structural transition is associated with a sizeable hysteresis typical of a first-order transition. The M–H curves below Tc show clear indication of anomalous magnetism at low temperatures: the virgin curve lies outside the subsequent magnetisation loops. These observations are explained by assuming structural coexistence of a high–temperature orthorhombic and a low–temperature monoclinic ferromagnetic phases. The nature of static magnetisation data is analysed in the critical region. Modified Arrott’s plots yielded perfect straight lines with the isotherm at ~ 300 K passing through the origin. The exponent values thus should be very close to those expected for the universality class of Heisenberg ferromagnets. The temperature dependence of resistivity also shows critical nature with an exponent belonging to the Heisenberg class. The thesis concludes with a chapter on General conclusions and future scope on these systems.

Over the last two decades, great progress has been made in the understanding of multiferroic materials, ones where multiple long-range orders simultaneously exist. However, much of the research has focused on bulk systems. If these materials are to be incorporated into devices, they would not be in bulk form, but would be miniaturized, such as in nanoparticle form. Accordingly, a better understanding of multiferroic nanoparticles is necessary. This manuscript examines the multiferroic phase diagram of multiferroic nanoparticles related to system size and surface-induced magnetic anisotropy. There is a particular focus on bismuth ferrite, the room-temperature antiferromagnetic-ferroelectric multiferroic. Theoretical results will be presented which show that at certain sizes, a bistability develops in the cycloidal wavevector. This implies bistability in the ferroelectric and magnetic moments of the nanoparticles. This novel magnetoelectric bistability may be of use in the creation of an electrically-written, magnetically-read memory element. / Graduate