Fractal Dimension and Size Scaling of Domains in Thin Films of Multiferroic
- 15 January 2008
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 100 (2), 027602
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.100.027602
Abstract
Domains in ferroelectric films are usually smooth, stripelike, very thin compared with magnetic ones, and satisfy the Landau-Lifshitz-Kittel scaling law (width proportional to square root of film thickness). However, the ferroelectric domains in very thin films of multiferroic have irregular domain walls characterized by a roughness exponent 0.5–0.6 and in-plane fractal Hausdorff dimension , and the domain size scales with an exponent rather than . The domains are significantly larger than those of other ferroelectrics of the same thickness, and closer in size to those of magnetic materials, which is consistent with a strong magnetoelectric coupling at the walls. A general model is proposed for ferroelectrics, ferroelastics or ferromagnetic domains which relates the fractal dimension of the walls to domain size scaling.
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