Voltage control of magnetocrystalline anisotropy in ferromagnetic-semiconductor-piezoelectric hybrid structures

Abstract

We demonstrate voltage control of the magnetic anisotropy of a (Ga,Mn)As device bonded to a piezoelectric transducer. The application of a uniaxial strain leads to a large reorientation of the magnetic easy axis, which is detected by anisotropic magnetoresistance measurements. Calculations based on the mean-field kinetic-exchange model of (Ga,Mn)As provide a microscopic understanding of the measured effect. The reported smooth voltage control of the uniaxial in-plane anisotropy, electrically induced magnetization switching, and detection of unconventional crystalline components of the anisotropic magnetoresistance illustrate the generic utility of our multiferroic system in providing device functionalities and in the research of micromagnetic and magnetotransport phenomena in diluted magnetic semiconductors.