Magnetization of Polycrystalline BiFeO₃ in High Magnetic Fields

The magnetization of polycrystalline ceramic BiFeO₃ has been studied with pulsed magnetic fields up to 58 T. We observe a magnetic transition in both, increasing and decreasing magnetic fields. The critical field of the transition decreases with temperature. It is observed at 18.1 T at 80K and 16.1 T at 235K for increasing fields, whereas with decreasing fields the transition is observed at about 1.5 T below these values. The observed transition is the same as that reported in BiFeO3 single crystals at 10K [Kadomtseva et al.: JETP Lett. 79 (2004) 571]. It was attributed to the destruction of the modulated magnetic ordering in BiFeO₃.