Orthoferrite
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An orthoferrite is any of a class of chemical compounds with the formula RFeO3 (where R is one or more rare-earth elements). Orthoferrites have an orthorhombic crystal structure and most are weakly ferromagnetic.[1]
[edit] Applications
Orthoferrites are transparent, and can modify the polarisation of a beam of light under the control of a magnetic field (Faraday rotation). This makes them potentially useful as optical sensors and actuators for use in optical communications. [2] They were also once used as the magnetic material in bubble memory.
[edit] Examples
- Lanthanum orthoferrite, LaFeO3 [3]
- Dysprosium orthoferrite, DyFeO3 [4]
[edit] References
- ^ "orthoferrite", Oxford English Dictionary, Draft Revision March 2008 [1]
- ^ Didosyan, Hauser, Reider, Nicolics, Sensors and Actuators on Orthoferrites, IEEE 2004
- ^ Ita, Murugavel, Ponnambalam, Raju, "Magnetic properties of lanthanum orthoferrite fine powders prepared by different chemical routes", Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Chem. Sci.), Vol. 115, Nos 5 & 6, October–December 2003, pp 519–524, Indian Academy of Sciences
- ^ Maziewski et al, "Visual observation of phase domains in dysprosium orthoferrite", J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 10 L37-L38, IOP 1977
