Magneto-Electric Effects in Metal-Organic Quantum Magnet

Published May 16, 2018

Magnetic-field-induced changes in the dielectric constant of Br-doped DTN at very low temperatures as a function of applied DC magnetic field at 20 mK.

New materials that exhibit a strong coupling between magnetic and electric effects are of great interest for the development of high-sensitivity detectors and other devices. This paper reports on such a coupling in a specially designed material.

What did scientists discover?

A distinct change in a material's internal electric, driven by an applied magnetic field, has been observed in a metal-organic quantum magnet known as DTN, a specially designed material consisting of simple arrays of metal atoms separated by complex organic molecules bound chemically in one giant molecule. The unusual effects arise because the magnetism of the atoms obeys quantum mechanics.

Why is this important?

There is great interest in exploring systems that exhibit these large magneto-electric effects due to potential future applications as high-sensitivity sensors and micro-machines. Understanding the magneto-electric effect in metal-organic quantum magnets is important for establishing the fundamental physics of the far more complex systems at higher temperatures.

Who did the research?

L. Yin¹, V. S. Zapf², A. Paduan-Filho³, J. S. Xia⁴, N. Sullivan⁴

¹University of California, San Diego; ²Los Alamos National Laboratory, ³University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, ⁴National MagLab, University of Florida

Why did they need the MagLab?

The magnetic-field-driven transitions to the Bose-Einstein condensed phase and the Bose glass state can only be studied in detail at millikelvin temperatures with the sample located at the center of a large superconducting magnet. The MagLab specializes in these sorts of measurements.