Contents: Phys. Status Solidi RRL 6/2013

Magnetoelectric multiferroics have a large potential for improved non-volatile memory cells and other applications in future information technology, but it is challenging to find suitable materials with strong magnetoelectric coupling at room temperature. Out of several proposed mechanisms to achieve high-temperature multiferroicity, "ferroelectricity originating from charge ordering" is particularly intriguing because of the expected combination of large electric polarizations with strong magnetoelectric coupling. However, experimental proof of this mechanism is elusive because actual example materials are exceedingly rare. LuFe 2 O 4 , and isostructural rare earth ferrites, have been widely believed to be the "proof of principle" examples of this mechanism, with the proposed, though not proven, ferroelectric charge order depicted on the top of the cover page. In his Review@RRL article (pp. 383-400), Manuel Angst reviews recent research on macroscopic properties and on charge and spin order in rare earth ferrites, focusing on the possibility of multiferroicity arising from charge ordering. The cover page background shows superstructure reflections arising from charge order in LuFe 2 O 4 , measured with high-energy X-ray diffraction at beamline 6ID-D of the Advanced Photon Source.