Electric-field control of magnetic order above room temperature

Electric-field-induced switching of material’s magnetization is a promising approach for achieving energy-efficient memory devices. By taking advantage of the strong magnetoelectric coupling with a BaTiO 3 substrate, a small electric field is used to switch a FeRh thin film from anti- to ferromagnet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature materials 2014-04, Vol.13 (4), p.345-351
Main Authors: Cherifi, R. O., Ivanovskaya, V., Phillips, L. C., Zobelli, A., Infante, I. C., Jacquet, E., Garcia, V., Fusil, S., Briddon, P. R., Guiblin, N., Mougin, A., Ünal, A. A., Kronast, F., Valencia, S., Dkhil, B., Barthélémy, A., Bibes, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
119/118
147/28
639/301/119/996
639/301/119/997
639/766/119/544
Anisotropy
Barium titanates
Biomaterials
Condensed Matter
Condensed Matter Physics
Critical temperature
Crystals
Electric fields
Epitaxial growth
Ferromagnetism
letter
Magnetic storage
Magnetism
Materials Science
Mathematical analysis
Nanotechnology
Optical and Electronic Materials
Physics
Polarization
Spintronics
Temperature control
Temperature effects
Transition temperatures
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Summary:Electric-field-induced switching of material’s magnetization is a promising approach for achieving energy-efficient memory devices. By taking advantage of the strong magnetoelectric coupling with a BaTiO 3 substrate, a small electric field is used to switch a FeRh thin film from anti- to ferromagnetic above room temperature. Controlling magnetism by means of electric fields is a key issue for the future development of low-power spintronics 1 . Progress has been made in the electrical control of magnetic anisotropy 2 , domain structure 3 , 4 , spin polarization 5 , 6 or critical temperatures 7 , 8 . However, the ability to turn on and off robust ferromagnetism at room temperature and above has remained elusive. Here we use ferroelectricity in BaTiO 3 crystals to tune the sharp metamagnetic transition temperature of epitaxially grown FeRh films and electrically drive a transition between antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic order with only a few volts, just above room temperature. The detailed analysis of the data in the light of first-principles calculations indicate that the phenomenon is mediated by both strain and field effects from the BaTiO 3 . Our results correspond to a magnetoelectric coupling larger than previous reports by at least one order of magnitude and open new perspectives for the use of ferroelectrics in magnetic storage and spintronics.
ISSN:1476-1122
1476-4660
DOI:10.1038/nmat3870