Bismuth ferrite is considered one of the most promising materials for low-power configurable antiferromagnetic spintronics. It is a room-temperature multiferroic material where antiferromagnetic spin textures can be controlled by electric fields.

Despite the interest in bismuth ferrite increased over the past two decades, a quantitative characterization of the ferroelectric domains and their spin textures is still missing.

In their latest work, the team led by Dr. Vincent Garcia (Unité Mixte de Physique, CNRS, Thales) shows how Scanning NV Magnetometry allows to map different types of spin cycloids stabilized in strain-engineered bismuth ferrite thin films and extract the relevant physical parameters for each type of cycloids.  

Thanks to the excellent mechanical and thermal stability of Qnami ProteusQ, the team managed to access micon-sized single domains which they previously designed by piezoresponse force microscopy. These domains were then quantitatively imaged with unprecedented precision.   

Read the full article in Physical Review Applied.