Multiferroic YCrO3 thin films: Structural, ferroelectric and magnetic properties

Highly oriented and locally epitaxial multiferroic YCrO3 (001) thin films, 20 nm thick, were deposited by r.f. magnetron sputtering on SrTiO3 (110) substrates at 890 degrees C. The structure was investigated by x-ray diffraction and cross section high resolution transmition electron microscopy, a clear local matching between the YCrO3 film and the substrate was observed. Ferroelectricity was confirmed by means of switching areas with opposite polarization directions, first and second harmonic electromechanical signals, and local hysteresis ferroelectric curves obtained by piezoresponse force microscopy. Additionally, below the Neel temperature, a clear ferromagnetic hysteresis loop was observed. These results will encourage further studies on the mechanism that promotes the ferroelectric nature in YCrO3 compound. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.