%0 Edited Book
%K Ferroelectric materials
%K Multiferroic materials
%K Epitaxial strain
%K Interfacial couplings
%K Magnetoelectric couplings
%K Recent progress
%K Order parameter
%K Atomic levels
%K Novel devices
%A Ramamoorthy Ramesh
%A N.A Spaldin
%B Nanoscience and Technology: A Collection of Reviews from Nature Journals
%D 2009
%G eng
%I World Scientific Publishing Co.
%P 20-28
%R 10.1142/9789814287005_0003
%T Multiferroics: Progress and prospects in thin films
%@ 9789814287005; 9814282685; 9789814282680
%X Multiferroic materials, which show simultaneous ferroelectric and magnetic ordering, exhibit unusual physical properties and in turn promise new device applications as a result of the coupling between their dual order parameters. We review recent progress in the growth, characterization and understanding of thin-fi lm multiferroics. The availability of high-quality thin-fi lm multiferroics makes it easier to tailor their properties through epitaxial strain, atomic-level engineering of chemistry and interfacial coupling, and is a prerequisite for their incorporation into practical devices. We discuss novel device paradigms based on magnetoelectric coupling, and outline the key scientifi c challenges in the fi eld. © 2010 Nature Publishing Group, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited and published by World Scientific Publishing Co. under licence. All Rights Reserved.