Tailoring magnetic anisotropy at the ferromagnetic/ferroelectric interface

Authors

• Chun-Gang Duan, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Julian P. Velev, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Renat F. Sabirianov, University of Nebraska at OmahaFollow
• Wai-Ning Mei, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
• Sitaram Jaswal, University of NebraskaFollow
• Evgeny Y. Tsymbal, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

3-26-2008

Comments

Published in APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 92, 122905 (2008). Copyright © 2008 American Institute of Physics. Used by permission.

Abstract

It is predicted that magnetic anisotropy of a thin magnetic film may be affected by the polarization of a ferroelectric material. Using a Fe/BaTiO₃ bilayer as a representative model and performing first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that a reversal of the electric polarization of BaTiO₃ produces a sizable change in magnetic anisotropy energy of Fe films. Tailoring the magnetic anisotropy of a nanomagnet by an adjacent ferroelectric material may yield entirely new device concepts, such as electric-field controlled magnetic data storage.