Structural Investigations of Bi-containing, multiferroic thin films using Second Harmonic Generation

The intensity and polarisation of the bulk second harmonic generation (SHG) from thin films depends critically on the second-order susceptibility tensor, which in turn is strongly influenced by the crystal structure of the film. Multiferroic BiMO$_{3}$ (M=Fe,Cr) thin films were grown epitaxially as thin films on varies substrates with changing orientations. We have found a substantial bulk SHG signal from of these materials and performed comparative magnetic field and temperature dependent studies. The implication with respect to crystal structure, magnetic phase transitions and multiferroic properties are discussed.