Publisher's Synopsis
Constituting one of the most exciting fields of condensed matter research over the last decade, multiferroic materials combine properties –– such as piezoelectricity and ferromagnetism ? that are usually only found separately in different materials. As result, novel devices have been developed, which allow the detailed control of the internal electrical and magnetic fields at the nanoscale.
In this handbook and ready reference, the editors, themselves prolific researchers in the field, have assembled an international team of pioneers in multiferroics to review the fundamental groundwork as well as the recent advances made possible by a combination of clever experimentation and sophisticated computation.
They present the topic in a readily comprehensible manner, clearly dividing the contents into three parts. The first section provides a detailed overview of the interplay between experimental and computational approaches for a successful synthesis of multiferroic bulk materials and thin films. The second part is devoted to the characterization of the complex order structure of multiferroics by radiation– and particle–based techniques, followed by chapters focusing on the major classes of multiferroic systems. The final part discusses such applications as memory devices, logic circuitry, magnetic field sensors and tunable microwave oscillators and phase shifters, supplemented by a look at future directions within the field.
