Electric field induced reversible 180° magnetization switching through tuning of interfacial exchange bias along magnetic easy-axis in multiferroic laminates

Abstract

E-field control of interfacial exchange coupling and deterministic switching of magnetization have been demonstrated in two sets of ferromagnetic(FM)/antiferromagnetic(AFM)/ferroelectric(FE) multiferroic heterostructures, including NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT (011) and NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT (011). We designed this experiment to achieve exchange bias tuning along the magnetic easy axis, which is critical for realizing reversible 180° magnetization deterministic switching at zero or small magnetic bias. Strong exchange coupling were established across AFM-FM interfaces, which plays an important role in voltage control of magnetization switching. Through the competition between the E-field induced uniaxial anisotropy in ferromagnetic layer and unidirectional anisotropy in antiferromagnetic layer, the exchange bias was significantly shifted by up to |∆Hex|/Hex = 8% in NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT (011) and 13% in NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT (011). In addition, the square shape of the hysteresis loop, as well as a strong shape tunability of |∆Hex|/Hc = 67.5 ~ 125% in NiFe/FeMn/glass/PZN-PT and 30 ~ 38% in NiFe/NiCoO/glass/PZN-PT were achieved, which lead to a near 180° magnetization switching. Electrical tuning of interfacial exchange coupling in FM/AFM/FE systems paves a new way for realizing magnetoelectric random access memories and other memory technologies.