Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya nature of ferroelectric ordering in magnetoelectric Gd1−xYxMnO3 system

•The (x,T) phase diagram of Gd1−xYxMnO3, 0≤x≤0.4, is proposed.•Structural distortions by ion substitution tune the phase sequence.•The magnetically-induced ferroelectricity is evidenced.•Applied magnetic field stabilizes ferroelectricity for x≤0.1.•The Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya model was used to trace the (x,T) phase diagram.

The phase diagram of Gd1−xYxMnO3, 0≤x≤0.4, is presented and the role of the driving mechanisms in stabilizing both magnetic and ferroelectric orderings is discussed in the framework of the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya model. The (x, T) phase diagram reflects the effect of lattice distortions induced by the substitution of Gd3+ ion by smaller Y3+ ions, which gradually unbalances the antiferromagnetic against the ferromagnetic exchange interactions, enabling the emergence of ferroelectricity for higher concentrations of yttrium.