There is an increasing understanding of the mechanisms underlying the development of magnetoelectric coupling and multiferroic order in both single-phase and composite materials. The investigations underlying this advance include a range of studies on thin films, which are expected to play an important role in the development of novel magnetoelectric devices. The properties of both single-phase and composite systems are widely studied. While single-phase materials can exhibit rich spin-charge coupling physics, the magnetizations, polarizations, and transition temperatures are often too small to be innately useful for device design. Conversely, a number of ferromagnetic–piezoelectric composites can show strong magnetoelectric coupling at ambient temperatures, which develops as a product-property mediated by elastic deformation, making these systems more directly amenable to fabricating devices. In this review, we provide a short overview of the mechanisms for magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroics, together with a discussion of how this magnetoelectric coupling is relevant for designing new multiferroic devices, including magnetic field sensors, dual electric and magnetic field tunable microwave and millimetre wave devices and miniature antennas. We present a brief summary of some of the significant results in studies on thin-film multiferroics, with an emphasis on single-phase materials, and covering systems where the magnetic and ferroelectric transitions fall at the same temperature as well as systems where they fall at different temperatures.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0022-3727/44/24/243001/pdf

Introduction to magnetoelectric coupling and multiferroic films

The impact of Yb and Co on structural, magnetic, electrical and photocatalytic behavior of nanocrystalline multiferroic BiFeO3 particles

The formation of metallic interface states between the two band insulators LaGaO3 and SrTiO3 is studied by the full-potential linearized augmented plane-wave method based on density functional theory. Structural optimization of the atomic positions points to only small changes of the chemical bonding at the interface. The n-type (LaO/TiO2) and p-type (GaO2/SrO) interfaces turn out to be metallic. Reduction of the O content increases the conductivity of the n-type interface, while the p-type interface can be turned gradually from a hole doped into an electron doped state.

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The metallic interface between the two band insulators LaGaO3 and SrTiO3

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1674-1056/27/9/097506/pdf

Magnetism manipulation in ferromagnetic/ferroelectric heterostructures by electric field induced strain

Ni3V2O8, regarded as an S  =  1 kagome staircase lattice antiferromagnet, possesses a novel magnetic field-temperature phase diagram. Specifically, a half plateau region is observed in the high field magnetization curve for magnetic fields in the range of 11-19 T. This experimental observation is theoretically unexpected for a standard kagome lattice antiferromagnet, and consequently, the underlying magnetic structure is still unclear. Multi-frequency electron spin resonance results in this study strongly support a collinear magnetic arrangement at the half plateau region. The resonant modes can be well fit by only considering the antiferromagnetic interactions on a four-spin sublattice of the spine sites.

The half magnetization plateau in Ni 3 V 2 O 8 studied by electron spin resonance

We report on the electric-field tuning of a magnetic phase transition temperature (TL) in multiferroic Ni3V2O8 thin films. The simultaneous magnetic and ferroelectric transition in Ni3V2O8 exhibits a clear dielectric anomaly; we monitored TL under applied electric and magnetic fields using dielectric measurements. The transition temperature increases by 0.2 K±0.05 K when the sample is biased approximately 25 MV/m compared to zero bias. This electric-field control of the magnetic transition can be qualitatively understood using a mean-field model incorporating a tri-linear coupling between the magnetic order parameters and spontaneous polarization. The shape of the electric field-temperature phase boundary is consistent with the proper order parameter for the multiferroic phase in Ni3V2O8 being a linear combination of the magnetic and ferroelectric correlation functions.

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Electric-field control of a magnetic phase transition in Ni3V2O8

We report on the electric field control of magnetic phase transition temperatures in multiferroic Ni3V2O8 thin films Using magnetization measurements, we find that the phase transition temperature to the canted antiferromagnetic state is suppressed by 02 K in an electric field of 30 MV/m, as compared to the unbiased sample Dielectric measurements show that the transition temperature into the magnetic state associated with ferroelectric order increases by 02 K when the sample is biased at 25 MV/m This electric field control of the magnetic transitions can be qualitatively understood using a mean field model incorporating a tri-linear coupling between the magnetic order parameters and spontaneous polarization

Electric field control of magnetic phase transitions in Ni3V2O8

http://absimage.aps.org/image/MAR08/MWS_MAR08-2007-000836.pdf

A. B. Harris

Papers

Electric-field control of a magnetic phase transition in Ni3V2O8

Electric field control of magnetic phase transitions in Ni3V2O8

Electric field control of magnetic phase transitions in Ni$_{3}$V$_{2}$\O$_{8}$