  The thin films of lead free magneto-electric compound AlFeO3 have been
deposited using pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction, X-ray
absorption spectroscopy and reflectivity measurements established the
orthorhombic structure and material density of 4.5g/cc which is comparable with
bulk AlFeO3. The Raman mode corresponding to AlFeO3 was found to vanish when
magnetic field of 800 Oe was applied at room temperature. Additionally, it was
observed that the Raman phonon mode present at the room temperature becomes
invisible in the temperature window of 280K-236K and reappears below it. The
detailed analysis of magnetization showed a change in magnetic order in this
temperature interval. The invisibility of Raman phonon mode corresponding to
AlFeO3 have been attributed to the lattice deformation caused by the
magnetoelastic effect. The presence of strong spin-lattice coupling is also
validated by the renormalization of phonon frequencies below 200 K.
