Defect control via Cu enrichment enhances multifunctional properties in the polar semiconductor
Phys. Rev. Materials 10, 104415 – Published 20 October, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/bjx1-dp34
Abstract
Polar materials have recently attracted significant interest due to their rich multifunctional properties. The chalcogenide polar semiconductor (Cu-deficient, ; ) is an emerging multiferroic system in which electric polarization is coupled to magnetization. However, its macroscopic ferroelectric polarization is strongly suppressed due to the presence of a high density of stacking faults. In this work, we demonstrate that these crystal defects, likely originating from nonstoichiometry, can be substantially reduced by increasing the Cu content. Cu-enriched samples, (), crystallize in a noncentrosymmetric monoclinic structure (space group ) as the Cu-deficient counterpart but show a nearly stacking-fault-free phase, which is attributed to the emergence of an interstitial site. Consequently, the Cu-enriched samples show a pronounced enhancement of the second-harmonic generation (SHG) response compared to Cu-deficient compositions. Magnetically, the Cu-enriched crystals retain long-range antiferromagnetic order with a Néel temperature of K without a glassy state but manifest a distinct metamagnetic transition along the polar axis that is absent in the Cu-deficient compositions. Furthermore, the electronic ground state evolves from insulating to doped semiconducting behavior upon Cu enrichment. Together, these results establish this material system as a unique and versatile platform for elucidating the interplay among composition, crystal defects, and multifunctional properties, offering a route to design magnetic polar systems with tunable quantum functionalities.