Magnetoelectric effects in ferromagnetic cobalt/ferroelectric copolymer multilayer films

Authors

Abhijit Mardana, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Mengjun Bai, University of Missouri-ColumbiaFollow
A. Baruth, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Stephen Ducharme, University of NebraskaFollow
Shireen Adenwalla, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

9-2010

Comments

Published in APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 97, 112904 (2010); doi:10.1063/1.3488814 © 2010 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

Interactions between a ferromagnet, cobalt, and a ferroelectric copolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene) in thin film heterostructures result in a 5% change in the ferroelectric polarization on application of a perpendicular 6 kG magnetic field corresponding to a magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of α =5.45 V/cm Oe. The effect disappears on magnetic saturation, ruling out conventional strain coupling. A simple model posits that the ferroelectric film develops in-plane strain gradients, a consequence of the coupling to strain gradients present at the domain walls in the multidomain Co layer, resulting in the measured polarization change via the flexoelectric effect.