Self-assembled
nanocomposite films containing ferroelectric and
ferromagnetic phases have aroused great interest because of their
advantages for practical multiferroic applications. However, previously
reported self-assembled oxide nanocomposites consist either of a single
phase that exhibits various variants or of two different materials.
Herein, we demonstrate the growth of Lu1–x
In
x
FeO3 (LIFO) (x = 0.5–0.6) thin films with an unusual self-assembled
nanocomposite microstructure containing orthorhombic and hexagonal
polymorphs, both of which grow epitaxially with respect to the cubic
(001)-SrTiO3 (STO) substrate and which are therefore homoepitaxial
with each other. Detailed transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization
illustrates self-assembled tapered hexagonal (h-LIFO)
nanopillars with circular cross section growing perpendicular to the
substrate embedded in the orthorhombic (o-LIFO) matrix.
The orthorhombic–hexagonal (o–h) mixed-phase LIFO has
three domain variants for o-LIFO and the two phases
are composed of grains with different sizes. Robust room-temperature
multiferroic responses and a huge piezoelectric effect have been demonstrated
with huge potentials in various device applications. The realization
of the o–h mixed-phase LIFO self-assembled nanocomposite in
this work has paved an avenue toward designing and exploring new materials
for memory devices and spintronic applications.