Magnetocapacitance in Ca3CoMnO6

Magnetocapacitance (MC) measurements-that is, measuring capacitance as a function of temperature at constant magnetic field-has been carried out on a quasi-1D compound, Ca3CoMnO6. MC reveals the presence of a magnetodielectric effect (MDE), which in turn signals the presence of magnetoelectric coupling below the magnetic ordering temperature, T-N (- 15 K). We also observed the sign reversal of the MDE as the temperature increased from 3 to 20 K. The MDE is positive at 3 K and negative between 3 and 15 K, and it saturates to a near zero value above 15 K. The sign change of the MDE is explained in terms the spin-pair correlation of neighboring spins of Co/Mn at a given applied magnetic field H. A negative MDE signifies antiferromagnetic ordering, and a positive MDE signifies ferromagnetic/paramagnetic ordering. Neutron diffraction study reveals changes in the magnetic structure in the temperature range of 2 to 10 K. The present work brings out the possible correlation between the magnetic structure and the dielectric properties of Ca3CoMnO6. (c) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3565199]