Science Daily September 14, 2020
An international team of researchers (Austria, Russia, the Netherlands) found that in langasite made of lanthanum, gallium, silicon and oxygen, doped with holmium atoms even small changes in the direction of the magnetic field can switch the electrical properties of the material to a completely different state even though it has a crystal structure that is so symmetrical that it should actually not allow any magnetoelectric effect for theoretical reasons. In the case of weak magnetic fields there is no coupling whatsoever with the electrical properties of the crystal. But if the strength of the magnetic field is increased holmium atoms change their quantum state and gain a magnetic moment. This breaks the internal symmetry of the crystal. The relationship between polarization and the direction of the magnetic field is strongly non-linear. This is a new form of the magnetoelectric effect, which was not known before. The material would be a promising new way to store data in solids…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Credit: CC0 Public Domain