Raman phonons in multiferroic FeVO<inf>4</inf>crystals

Abstract

© 2015 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd. Multiferroic materials are promising candidates for next-generation multi-functional devices, because of the coexistence of multi-orders and the coupling between the orders. FeVO 4 has been confirmed to be a multiferroic compound, since it exhibits both ferroelectricity and antiferromagnetic ordering at low temperatures. In this paper, we have performed careful Raman scattering measurements on high-quality FeVO 4 single crystals. The compound has a very rich phonon structure due to its low crystal symmetry (P - 1) and at least 47 Raman-active phonon modes have been resolved in the low and hightemperature spectra. Most of the observed modes are well assigned with aid of first-principles calculations and symmetry analysis. The present study provides an experimental basis for exploring spin-lattice coupling and the mechanism of multiferroicity in FeVO 4 .