We investigated the origin of magnetic behaviors induced by an asymmetric spin exchange interaction in Fe-site engineered lead iron niobate [Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3, PFN], which exhibits a room-temperature multiferroicity. The magnitude of spin exchange interaction was regulated by the introduced transition metals with a distinct Bohr magneton, i.e., Cr, Co, and Ni. All compositions were found to have a single-phase perovskite structure keeping their ferroelectric order except for Cr introduction. We discovered that the incorporation of each transition metal imposes a distinct magnetic behavior on the lead iron niobate system; antiferro-, hard ferro-, and soft ferromagnetism for Cr, Co, and Ni, respectively. This indicates that orbital occupancy and interatomic distance play key roles in the determination of magnetic behavior rather than the magnitude of the individual Bohr magneton. Further investigations are planned, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy, to clarify the origin of magnetic properties in this system.
