ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

The crystal structure of multiferroic CuO

Abstract: Despite its simple chemical formula, cupric oxide (CuO) has a surprisingly complex magnetic behaviour which remains only partly understood. Interest in CuO has recently resurfaced with the discovery of a magnetically-induced multiferroic phase at high temperatures. Neutron scattering has revealed that the multiferroicity is accompanied by a change in the magnetic structure from a commensurate antiferromagnet at low T, to an incommensurate helical structure in the multiferroic phase. We have investigated the spin dynamics and magnetoelectric behaviour in CuO, to understand the mechanism that drives the multiferroic phase. We have recently measured the complete spin-wave spectrum throughout the Brillouin zone, but we have found that the data cannot be modelled within the symmetry imposed by the published crystal structure. We therefore wish to use HRPD to determine the structure of CuO.

Principal Investigator: Dr Henrik Jacobsen
Experimenter: Professor Andrew Boothroyd
Local Contact: Dr Alexandra Gibbs

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1800021

ISIS Experiment Number: RB1800021

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
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Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Dr Henrik Jacobsen et al; (2017): The crystal structure of multiferroic CuO, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB1800021

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.