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[PAST EVENT] Physics Colloquium - Amlan Biswas
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Amlan Biswas, University of Florida, Title of Talk: Magnetoelectrism” in crystals: Controlling magnetic anisotropy with strain and electric fields
Abstract: While the effect of an electric field on magnetism is firmly established, we are much more familiar with the equation M = cmH than with M=?E, where cm is the magnetic susceptibility and ? quantifies the “magnetoelectric effect.” A reason for this unfamiliarity is that ? is negligible for most magnetic materials. I will discuss our experimental results on controlling the direction (and not the magnitude) of M in the compound LaPrCaMnO3 with strain and electric fields. I will describe how the two main sources of magnetic anisotropy, viz. magnetocrystalline and shape anisotropy, can be modified using strain and electric fields due to the first order nature of the magnetic transition in LaPrCaMnO3. Ongoing experiments in our research group have been designed to fabricate and study these materials and further enhance their magnetoelectric properties.