We present a resonant x-ray diffraction study of the magnetic order in NdFe3(BO3)4 and its coupling to applied electric fields. Our high-resolution measurements reveal A coexistence of two different magnetic phases, which can be triggered effectively by external electric fields. More in detail, the volume fraction of the collinear magnetic phase is found to strongly increase at the expense of helically ordered regions when an electric field is applied. These results confirm that the collinear magnetic phase is responsible for the ferroelectric polarization of NdFe3(BO3)4 and, more importantly, demonstrate that magnetic phase coexistence provides an alternative route towards materials with a strong magnetoelectric response.
@article{arxiv.1504.03848,
title = {Control of the magnetic phase coexistence in NdFe$_3$(BO$_3$)$_4$ by electric fields},
author = {S. Partzsch and J. E. Hamann-Borrero and C. Mazzoli and J. Herrero-Martin and A. Vasiliev and L. Bezmaternykh and B. Büchner and J. Geck},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1504.03848},
year = {2016}
}