Novel dielectric anomalies due to spin-chains above and below Néel temperature in Ca(3)Co(2)O(6)

We bring out novel dielectric behavior of a spin-chain compound, Ca(3)Co(2)O(6), undergoing Néel order at (T(N) = ) 24 K. It is found that the virgin curve in the plot of isothermal dielectric constant (ε') versus magnetic-field lies outside the ‘butterfly-shaped’ envelope curve well below T(N) (e.g., 2.6 K), with a signature of a partial arrest of the high-field magnetoelectric (ME) phase in zero-field after travelling through magnetic-field-induced magnetic transitions. This behavior is in contrast to that observed in the isothermal magnetization data. Thus, this work brings out a novel case for ‘phase-coexistence phenomenon’ due to ME coupling. Another strange finding is that there is a weak, but a broad, peak in ε' around 85–115 K well above T(N), attributable to incipient spin-chain magnetic ordering. This finding should inspire further work to study ME coupling on artificial assemblies of magnetic chains, also keeping in mind miniaturization required for possible applications.