Modelling spin-control by ferroelectric switching
A key advantage of spin-defect based quantum technologies is the potential to engineer the defect properties by modifying the atomic environment. Systems which exhibit coupling between magnetic and electric degrees of freedom provide a route to manipulate spins by applying an electric-field, suggesting the prospect of localized spin-control via electrostatic gating.

We have elucidated the fundamental limit of magnetoelectric coupling by electric-field control of magnetic dopants in ferroelectric hosts, demonstrating through combined first principles calculations and electron-paramagnetic resonance measurements that the spin directionality evolves following a switching path coupled to polarization switching.1

We further leverage the versatility of the ferroelectric oxide platform by modifying the crystal field environment of the defect through epitaxial strain, low symmetry hosts and emergent topological polarization textures.[2,3] Results demonstrating spin-control in these systems provide an enhanced understanding of spin-charge coupling in defect systems and offer novel routes to tailored spin-control in ferroelectric crystals.

[1] J. Liu, V. V. Laguta, K. Inzani, W. Huang, S. Das, R. Chatterjee, E. Sheridan, S. M. Griffin, A. Ardavan, R. Ramesh, Coherent electric field manipulation of Fe3+ spins in PbTiO3. Science Advances, 7, eabf8103 (2021).
[2] Inzani, K., Pokhrel, N., Leclerc, N., Clemens, Z., Ramkumar, S. P., Griffin, S. M., Nowadnick, E. A. Manipulation of spin orientation via ferroelectric switching in Fe-doped Bi2WO6 from first principles. Physical Review B, 105(5), 054434 (2022).
[3] S. Das, V. V. Laguta, K. Inzani, W. Huang, J. Liu, R. Chatterjee, M. R. McCarter, S. Susarla, A. Ardavan, J. Junquera, S. M. Griffin, R. Ramesh, Inherent Spin–Polarization Coupling in a Magnetoelectric Vortex. Nano Letters, 22, 3976 (2022).
Date: 2 December 2022, 14:00 (Friday, 8th week, Michaelmas 2022)
Venue: Banbury Road Lecture Theatre, 21 Banbury Road, Oxford/Livestream: https://ox.cloud.panopto.eu/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=268bbb85-3ec7-40da-afc4-af2b00c99023
Speaker: Professor Katherine Inzani (University of Nottingham)
Organising department: Department of Materials
Organiser: Dr Joseph Prentice (University of Oxford)
Part of: Oxford Advanced Materials Network
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Samantha Pearce