Piezomagnetoelectric effect in ${\mathrm{LiCoPO}}_4$

The piezomagnetoelectric effect is considered to be the appearance of a piezoelectric response caused by a magnetic field in magnetically ordered media. The possibility of its existence in antiferromagnets was predicted in the 1960's; however, attempts at its experimental detection were unsuccessful. In this Rapid Communication, our experiments confirm the appearance of the piezomagnetoelectric effect in a ${\mathrm{LiCoPO}}_4$ single crystal.

Figure 1

Piezoelectric response of the $x$ cut of ${\mathrm{LiCoPO}}_4$ crystal to shear deformation. (a) Magnetic field dependence of the potential amplitude ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_0$ ($T=2$ K). (b) Temperature dependence of the PME coefficient ($H=4$ T).

Figure 2

Magnetic field dependences of the amplitude ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_0$ and the phase $\phi$ of the piezoelectric response of the $x$ cut of the crystal on longitudinal deformation ($T=1.7$).

Figure 3

Piezoelectric response of the $y$ cut of the crystal on shear deformation $\mathbf{q}\parallel \mathbf{b}, \mathbf{u}\parallel \mathbf{a}, \mathbf{E}\parallel \mathbf{H}\parallel \mathbf{b}$. (a) Magnetic field ($T=2.6$ K) and (b) temperature ($H=4$ T) dependences of the amplitude ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_0$ and the phase $\phi$ of the piezoresponse.

Figure 4

Piezoelectric response of the $y$ cut of the crystal to longitudinal deformation.