Linear electro-optic effect in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films

Multiferroics are materials with coexisting magnetic and ferroelectric orders, which show potential for electrically controlled spintronic devices. A common application of ferroelectrics is in electro-optical modulators exploiting their electric-field-dependent optical indices. The coupling of optical and magnetic degrees of freedom is attractive for designing multifunctional devices, but to date the electro-optical response of multiferroics has hardly been explored. Here we report a joint experimental and theoretical study of this effect in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films. We confirm the large birefringence present in single crystals and determine the electro-optic coefficients r13 and r33. We present approaches to increase the obtained coefficients, for instance, by using tetragonal-like BiFeO3, and expand the potential of multiferroics to optical applications.