  The multiferroic properties of TbMnO3 demonstrate high versatility under
applied pressure, making the material potentially suitable for use in flexible
electronics. Here, we report on the preparation of elastic freestanding TbMnO3
membranes with dominant (001) or (010) crystallographic out-of-plane
orientation. Membranes with thickness of 20 nm display orthorhombic bulk-like
relaxed lattice parameters with strong suppression of twinning for the (010)
oriented membranes. Strain in flexible membranes was tuned by using a
commercial strain cell device and characterized by Raman spectroscopy. The B1g
out-of-phase oxygen-stretching mode, representative for the Mn-O bond distance,
systematically shifts to lower energy with increasing strain (epsilon{max} ~
0.5 %). The flexibility and elastic properties of the membranes allow for
specific manipulation of the multiferroic state by strain, whereas the choice
of the crystallographic orientation gives possibility for an in- or
out-of-plane electric polarization.
