Electric field control of magnetization reversal in FeGa/PMN-PT thin films

Abstract

Artificial magnetoelectric materials possess huge potential to be utilized in the development of energy efficient spintronic devices. In the past decade, the search for a good ferromagnetic/ferroelectric combination having the ability to create high magnetoelectric coupling, created new insights and also new challenges. In this report, the magnetoelectric effect is studied in the FeGa/PMN-PT(001) multiferroic heterostructures in presence of electric fields via the strain-mediated effects. A formation of magnetic anisotropy in FeGa is observed after changing the polarization of PMN-PT to out-of-plane orientations. The magnetic domains structures forming during the magnetization reversal were studied at compressive, tensile and remanent strained states. The change in the magnetic properties were reversible after each cycling of the electric field polarity, hence creating a non-volatile system. The control of magnetization switching sustained by an ON-OFF electric field makes our multiferroic heterostructure suitable for application in low-power magnetoelectric based memory applications.

Electric field control of 180° magnetization reversal in a spin-valve multiferroic heterostructure

“…The E-field-modulated MR effect in SV/FE multiferroic heterostructures are limited [21][22][23], as large as a half or less of the MR ratio that obtained by a magnetic field or spin current under normal conditions. Thus, several researches have been proposed to achieve 180°magnetization switching with the assistance of a magnetic field, the uniaxial anisotropy or magnetic shape anisotropy of a nanomagnet [24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. By adopting special structure such as E-field control of exchange bias [31,32], and two strain fields [33], the 180°magnetization switching can be obtained.…”