Multiferroic Y(Lu)MnO3 undergoes an isostructural transition at the magnetic Neel transition, producing giant atomic displacement for every atom in the unit cell. It appears that this happens without either soft-mode degrees of freedom or orbital degrees of freedom. This extremely large magneto-elastic coupling is unprecedented - larger by two orders of magnitude than in any magnetic materials.
UMD Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (2005)
The Maryland MRSEC carries out nationally recognized fundamental research on surfaces and interfaces of materials with potential impact on the next generation of opto- and nano-electronic devices, and on complex oxides with potential applications in memory, switches, and sensors.