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A van der Waals heterostructure made from atomic layers of ferroelectric CuCrP₂S₆ and ferromagnetic Fe₃GeTe₂ can offer reversible, non-volatile ferroelectric control of two-dimensional magnetism.

Synthesis of single-crystal complex-oxide films directly on silicon is difficult due to differing interfacial chemistry. Here, the authors demonstrate room-temperature integration of single-crystal lead zirconate titanate on to silicon to act as a gate insulator in a field-effect transistor.

Polar skyrmions are nanoscale topological structures of electric polarizations. Their collective modes, dubbed as “skyrons”, are discovered by the terahertz-field-excitation, femtosecond x-ray diffraction measurements and advanced modeling.

La-substitution in BiFeO₃ enables an electric field-driven conversion of a multi-domain into a single ferroelectric domain accompanied by a single variant spin cycloid. A single domain multiferroic generates 400% larger non-local inverse spin Hall voltage at the output.

Dou et al. report photo-induced long-lived polar states in octahedral copper-based hybrid perovskites with Jahn-Teller distortion. These states arise from reversible light-induced slow structural deformation induced by polar lattice microstrain formation.

The authors investigate how the disorder and the interplay of lateral and axial polarization of the polar vortex topology in SrTiO₃/PbTiO₃ superlattices can lead to the formation of the chiral and achiral domain walls, and subsequently the triple point topologies.

The authors observe out-of-plane ferroelectric polarization induced by interlayer sliding in a multiferroic van der Waals semiconductor. The switching voltage scales down to 0.3 V at room temperature, which promises low-power device applications.

The authors report a modulation of the magnon spin current by electric polarization reversal.

BiFeO₃ has a wide application but the impact of rare-earth substitution for the evolution of the coupling mechanism is unknown. Here, the authors reveal the correlation between ferroelectricity, antiferromagnetism, a weak ferromagnetic moment, and their switching pathways in La-substituted BiFeO₃.

Geometrical confinement in ultrathin 0.68PbMg_1/3Nb_2/3O₃-0.32PbTiO₃ films induces a dome-shaped stability region of relaxor behaviour in a temperature–thickness relaxor phase diagram.

Stabilizing non-trivial magnetic spin textures at room temperature remains challenging. Here, the authors propose introducing magnetic atoms into the van der Waals gap of 2D magnets Fe₃GaTe₂ to stabilize the magnetic spin textures beyond skyrmion.

A phase transition at the surface of a thin film of iron can be exploited to create a metallic non-volatile memory.

In the field of multiferroic thin films, attaining low-temperature epitaxy has been a long-standing problem. In this work, authors propose a pathway to significantly reduce the BiFeO₃ thin film growth temperature using the BaBiPbO₃ template.

Understanding transformations of non-equilibrium materials is a key open scientific question. Here the pathway by which different polar supertextures undergo dynamical correlations and collectively transform into a metastable supercrystal state is revealed experimentally and theoretically over seven orders of magnitude timescale.

A thin film of M13 bacteriophage generates piezoelectric energy that is used to power a liquid-crystal display.

Understanding the thermal transport properties of superlattice structures is relevant to a number of possible practical applications. Now, the scattering of phonons in oxide superlattices is shown to undergo a crossover from an incoherent to a coherent regime, which in turn strongly alters their thermal behaviour.

Direct measurement of negative capacitance is now reported in a ferroelectric capacitor based on a thin, epitaxial ferroelectric PZT film.

Computer simulations suggest a route to making a capacitor that can store electron spin, as well as charge, by applying an electric field to a conventional capacitor.

Materials that combine ferroic properties — such as ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity — are highly desirable, but rare. A new class of multiferroic solids heralds a fresh approach for making such materials.

Previous understanding of the coupling between ferroelectric structure and magnetic texture in BiFeO₃ has relied on mesoscale measurements. Here, the authors image coupling directly, showing a complex spin cycloid controlled with electric field.

Understanding the mechanism by which magnons—the quanta of spin waves—propagate is important for developing practical devices. Now it is shown that long-range dipole–dipole interactions mediate the propagation in a van der Waals antiferromagnet.

The authors realize voltage-based magnetization switching and reading in nanodevices at room temperature, through exchange coupling between multiferroic BiFeO₃ and ferromagnetic CoFe, for writing, and spin-to-charge current conversion between CoFe and Pt, for reading.

The polar chiral texture of the vortex or skyrmion structure in ferroelectric oxide PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattice attracts attention. Here, the authors report a theoretical framework to probe emergent chirality of electrical polarization textures.

Coexistence of a spin-glass phase with antiferromagnetism in an intercalated crystal produces a large exchange bias effect. This is due to the interplay of disorder and frustration.

Reducing the switching energy of ferroelectric films remains an important goal. Here, the authors elucidate the fundamental role of lattice dynamics in ferroelectric switching on both freestanding BiFeO₃ membranes and films clamped to a substrate.

A spin–orbit torque efficiency of around 2.7 can be achieved in heterostructures based on the bismuthate BaPb_1−xBi_xO₃, which can be used to drive magnetization switching at current densities of 4 × 10⁵ A cm⁻².

Polar skyrmions are particle-like objects consisted of swirling electric dipoles that hold promise for next generation nanodevices. Here, the authors explore the strain-induced transition from skyrmions to merons using electron imaging methods.

Recent electron microscopy techniques have attracted significant attention for their ability to image electric fields at the atomic level. Here, the authors investigate the possibility to separate the charge density contributions of core and valence electrons in monolayer MoS2, highlighting the limitations induced by the electron probe shape.

Kosterlitz–Thouless–Halperin–Nelson–Young (KTHNY) theory describes the melting of an ordered two-dimensional phase to a disordered phase, via a quasi-ordered ‘hexatic’ phase. Magnetic skyrmions, as a phase of two-dimensional quasi-particles may be expected to exhibit a KTHNY melting process, however, observing such a phase transition is difficult. Herein, Meisenheimer et al study the formation of magnetic skyrmions in (Fe_0.5Co_0.5)₅GeTe₂, and, via physical confinement at device scale, succeed in obtaining an ordered skrymion phase.

Shape-memory materials hold great potential for actuators and aims to improve them focus on increasing the maximum strain that they exhibit in response to a stimulus. Here the authors demonstrate a large shape-memory effect in bismuth ferrite, observing a maximum strain of up to 14%.

Ferroelastic switching in thin films is typically restricted by constraints from the substrate or occurs around twin-like domains. Here, the authors show reversible and non-volatile ferroelastic switching avoiding substrate constraints in layered-perovskite Bi_2WO_6 epitaxial films.

The electromechanical response of thin film ferroelectric devices is considerably influenced by ferroelastic domains. Here, the authors observe that these ferroeleastic domains can be stabilized by dislocations, providing feedback for a better control over the properties of these devices.

Magnetoelectric materials combine ferroelectric and magnetic properties through a coupling of the spin and lattice degrees of freedom. Here, magnetoelectric bismuth ferrite is found to simultaneously undergo both a magnetic and a ferroelectric transition at the same temperature.

Electric fields typically break symmetry when applied as a stimulus to materials. Here, by forming a superlattice of BiFeO₃ and TbScO₃, it is shown that an electric field can repeatedly stabilize mixed-phase polar and antipolar BiFeO₃.

The vibrational states emerging at the interface in oxide superlattices are characterized theoretically and at atomic resolution, showing the impact of material length scales on structure and vibrational response.

The response of the electronic structure to the non-trivial polarization texture in PbTiO₃/SrTiO₃ superlattices has not been explored. Here, the authors reveal how the peaks of the spectra shift and change their local electronic structure depending on the position of the Ti cation.

A dynamical study shows that vortices of electrical polarization have higher frequencies and smaller size than their magnetic counterparts, properties that are promising for electric-field-driven data processing.

In the standard Si transistor gate stack, replacing conventional dielectric HfO₂ with an ultrathin ferroelectric–antiferroelectric HfO₂–ZrO₂ heterostructure exhibiting the negative capacitance effect demonstrates ultrahigh capacitance without degradation in leakage and mobility, promising for ferroelectric integration into advanced logic technology.

A scalable spintronic device operating via spin–orbit transduction and magnetoelectric switching and using advanced quantum materials shows non-volatility and improved performance and energy efficiency compared with CMOS devices.

Understanding the inner workings of complex magnetoelectric multiferroics remains a challenge, as macroscopic techniques characterize average responses rather than the role of individual iron centers. Here, the authors reveal the origin of high-temperature magnetism in multiferroic superlattices.

To fully exploit the potential of multiferroic materials the control of their intrinsic degrees of freedom is a prerequisite. Here, the control of spin orientation in strained BiFeO₃ films is demonstrated elucidating the microscopic mechanism of the complex interplay of polar and magnetic order.

The controlled creation of one-dimensional conductive channels at the cores of topological defects in the multiferroic material BiFeO₃ demonstrates that such defects can drive metal–insulator phase transitions, and might provide a route towards high-density information storage.

The length scale at which phenomena such as ferroelectricity is still present is of fundamental relevance for nanoscale applications. A high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study now shows how ferroelectricity can persist in nanoparticles down to about 5 nm in diameter, pointing the way towards the ultimate size limit for ferroelectric applications.

Tunnelling measurements reveal the emergence of a thickness-dependent in-built potential across LaAlO₃ thin films grown on SrTiO₃ substrates. As well as being useful for developing novel LaAlO₃/SrTiO₃ devices, these observations help explain the origin of the two-dimensional electron gas that is known to arise at the interface between these two insulators.

Enhanced switchable ferroelectric polarization is achieved in doped hafnium oxide films grown directly onto silicon using low-temperature atomic layer deposition, even at thicknesses of just one nanometre.

Exploring topological textures in ferroelectrics facilitates the understanding and application of topological features in matter. Here the authors demonstrate the strain field induced evolution of topological vortices in nanoplatelets of rhombohedral phase BiFeO3 using the angle-resolved piezoresponse force microscopy.