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Room Temperature Nanoscale Ferroelectricity in Magnetoelectric GaFeO3 Epitaxial Thin Films

We demonstrate room temperature ferroelectricity in the epitaxial thin films of magnetoelectric GaFeO3. Piezo-force measurements show a 180o phase shift of piezoresponse upon switching the electric field indicating nanoscale ferroelectricity in epitaxial thin films of gallium ferrite. Further, temperature dependent impedance analysis with and without the presence of an external magnetic field clearly reveals a pronounced magneto-dielectric effect across the magnetic transition temperature. In addition, our first principles calculations show that Fe ions are not only responsible for ferrimagnetism as observed earlier, but also give rise to the observed ferroelectricity, making GFO an unique single phase multiferroic.