Magnetic-field dependence of strongly anisotropic spin reorientation transition in NdFeO3: a terahertz study

One of the biggest challenges in spintronics is finding how to switch the magnetization of a material. One way of the spin switching is the spin reorientation transition (SRT), a switching of macroscopic magnetization rotated by 90°. The macroscopic magnetization in a NdFeO3 single crystal rotates from Γ4 to Γ2 via Γ24 as the temperature is decreased from 170 to 100 K, while it can be switched back to Γ4 again by increasing the temperature. However, the precise roles of the magnetic-field induced SRT are still unclear. By using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS), here, we show that the magnetic-field induced SRT between Γ4 and Γ2 is strongly anisotropic, depending on the direction of the applied magnetic field. Our experimental results are well interpreted by the anisotropy of rare-earth Nd(3+) ion. Furthermore, we find that the critical magnetic-field required for SRT can be modified by changing the temperature. Our study suggests that the anisotropic SRT in NdFeO3 single crystal provides a platform to facilitate the potential applications in robust spin memory devices.