Magnetoelectric Switching of Exchange Bias

Authors

Pavel Borisov, Universität Duisburg-EssenFollow
Andreas Hochstrat, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Xi Chen, Universität Duisburg-Essen
Wolfgang Kleeman, Universität Duisburg-EssenFollow
Christian Binek, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

3-23-2005

Comments

Published in Physical Review Letters 94, 117203 (2005) (4 pages). ©2005 The American Physical Society. Used by permission. URL: http://link.aps.org/abstract/PRL/v94/e117203 doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.94.117203

Abstract

The perpendicular exchange bias field, H_EB, of the magnetoelectric heterostructure Cr₂O₃(111)/(Co/Pt)₃ changes sign after field cooling to below the Néel temperature of Cr₂O₃ in either parallel or antiparallel axial magnetic and electric freezing fields. The switching of H_EB is explained by magnetoelectrically induced antiferromagnetic single domains which extend to the interface, where the direction of their end spins controls the sign of H_EB. Novel applications in magnetoelectronic devices seem possible.