PNNL

Abstract

MTiO3 (M = Fe, Mn, Ni) compounds have received recent attention as possible candidates for new multiferroic materials capable of magnetization switching by application of an electric field. Epitaxial Ni1-xTi1-yO3 films of different thickness and composition were deposited on Al2O3(0001) by pulsed laser deposition, and characterized using several techniques. Structural parameters for the metastable LiNbO3-type NiTiO3 structure with the space group R3c were predicted using density functional theory calculations, and compared with the experimental results. Our structural data from x-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption spectroscopy indicate that epitaxial ilmenite-type NiTiO3 films were successfully grown. Furthermore, lattice strain exerted by the sapphire substrate results in a distorted ilmenite structure similar to the LiNbO3-type one. Our results demonstrate the potential of oxide heteroepitaxy to stabilize metastable multiferroic phases that may be difficult to prepare or are inaccessible in the bulk.