The magnetization and electric polarization of a polar antiferromagnet Fe2Mo3O8 are studied up to 66 T for spin-saturation magnetic fields applied along the polar axis. The magnetization process at 1.4 K exhibited multistep structures below the saturation field of 65 T. The electric polarization along the polar axis exhibits a similar multistep behavior with a total change of 1.2 μC/cm2. A combined triangular-lattice antiferromagnetic model with strong Ising-type spin anisotropy reproduces this multistep magnetoelectric (ME) effect. The exchange striction mechanism explains the remarkable ME response in the two sub-lattice type-I multiferroic materials. These results and interpretation demonstrate a method for realizing multistage magnetoelectric effects in hybrid spin systems.
@article{arxiv.2309.10583,
title = {Multiple Magnetoelectric Plateaux in Polar Magnet Fe$_2$Mo$_3$O$_8$},
author = {Qian Chen and Atsushi Miyake and Takashi Kurumaji and Keisuke Matsuura and Fumitaka Kagawa and Shin Miyahara and Yoshinori Tokura and Masashi Tokunaga},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2309.10583},
year = {2023}
}