Multiferroic Heterostructures Integrating Ferroelectric and Magnetic Materials

TLDR

Multiferroic heterostructures integrate ferroelectric and magnetic layers, enabling interfacial coupling of electric polarization and magnetization that can be exploited for converse or direct magnetoelectric effects, promising enhanced or new functionalities in memory, microwave, and sensor devices, and have spurred intensive research for more than a decade. This review summarizes recent progress in the fundamental principles and potential applications of interface‑based magnetoelectric effects in multiferroic heterostructures and identifies key issues that must be addressed for practical device realization. The authors discuss the mechanisms of interfacial coupling and propose perspectives on overcoming challenges to achieve functional devices.

Abstract

Multiferroic heterostructures can be synthesized by integrating monolithic ferroelectric and magnetic materials, with interfacial coupling between electric polarization and magnetization, through the exchange of elastic, electric, and magnetic energy. Although the nature of the interfaces remains to be unraveled, such cross coupling can be utilized to manipulate the magnetization (or polarization) with an electric (or magnetic) field, known as a converse (or direct) magnetoelectric effect. It can be exploited to significantly improve the performance of or/and add new functionalities to many existing or emerging devices such as memory devices, tunable microwave devices, sensors, etc. The exciting technological potential, along with the rich physical phenomena at the interface, has sparked intensive research on multiferroic heterostructures for more than a decade. Here, we summarize the most recent progresses in the fundamental principles and potential applications of the interface-based magnetoelectric effect in multiferroic heterostructures, and present our perspectives on some key issues that require further study in order to realize their practical device applications.