Promise of new multiferroics: Synthesis and characterization of epitaxial NiTiO$_{3}$ films

In a search for new multiferroic materials where the direction of magnetization can be switched by an applied electric field, we have looked for materials in which polarization and magnetization are strongly coupled. Recent theory calculations predicted that the family of compounds MTiO$_{3}$ (M = Mn, Fe, Ni), in a certain polymorphic structure (acentric $R3c)$, are promising candidates where a polar lattice distortion can induce weak ferromagnetism. Guided by these insights, a rhombohedral phase of NiTiO$_{3}$ has been prepared in epitaxial thin film form, whose structure is very close to that predicted to be a multiferroic. The synthesis of such new epitaxial films, their full structural characterization and physical property measurements along with our first-principles DFT calculations to predict the desired NiTiO$_{3}$ structure and its stability are reported.