Identification and mechanical control of ferroelastic domain structure in rhombohedral CaMn7O12
Published in Physical Review B, 2015
Recommended citation: Renliang Yuan, Lian Duan, Xinyu Du, and Yuan Li, "Identification and mechanical control of ferroelastic domain structure in rhombohedral CaMn7O12", Phys. Rev. B 91, 054102 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.91.054102
Abstract
We report on observation of ferroelastic domain structure in single crystals of multiferroic CaMn7O12 at room temperature. Two types of ferroelastic domain wall are found, consistent with the material’s rhombohedral symmetry that is reduced from cubic symmetry at higher temperatures. Using Raman spectroscopy along with othermeasurements,we develop a systematic method to determine the microscopic domain orientation. Moreover, we find a switching behavior of the domains, which allows us to detwin the crystals conveniently at room temperature using a moderate uniaxial compression. Our result paves theway for further spectroscopic study and domain engineering in CaMn7O12.