Anomalous magnetic structure and spin dynamics in magnetoelectric LiFePO4

Rasmus Toft-Petersen*, Manfred Reehuis, Thomas B S Jensen, Niels H. Andersen, Jiying Li, Manh Duc Le, Mark Laver, Christof Niedermayer, Bastian Klemke, Kim Lefmann, David Vaknin

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We report significant details of the magnetic structure and spin dynamics of LiFePO4 obtained by single-crystal neutron scattering. Our results confirm a previously reported collinear rotation of the spins away from the principal b axis, and they determine that the rotation is toward the a axis. In addition, we find a significant spin-canting component along c. The possible causes of these components are discussed, and their significance for the magnetoelectric effect is analyzed. Inelastic neutron scattering along the three principal directions reveals a highly anisotropic hard plane consistent with earlier susceptibility measurements. Using a spin Hamiltonian, we show that the spin dimensionality is intermediate between XY- and Ising-like, with an easy b axis and a hard c axis. It is shown that both next-nearest neighbor exchange couplings in the bc plane are in competition with the strongest nearest neighbor coupling.

Original languageEnglish
Article number024404
JournalPhysical Review B
Volume92
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 6 Jul 2015
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

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