Theoretical study of the phonon spectra of multiferroic BiFeO(3) nanoparticles

The phonon properties of multiferroic BiFeO(3) (BFO) nanoparticles are studied using a Green's function technique on the basis of the Heisenberg and the transverse Ising models, taking into account anharmonic spin-phonon and phonon-phonon interaction terms. The phonon spectrum is obtained for different exchange, magnetoelectric, and spin-phonon interaction constants. The influence of temperature, surface and size effects on the phonon energy and damping is discussed. The phonon energy and damping in BFO nanoparticles are greater in comparison to those in bulk BFO. The strong spin-phonon interactions lead to anomalies in the phonon spectrum around the magnetic and ferroelectric phase transitions. The influence of an applied magnetic field is studied, too. The predictions are consistent with experimental results.