Researchers use unique crystals to demonstrate electric field control of magnetism
Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the University of Science and Technology of China have demonstrated considerable control of magnetism at low electric fields (E) at room temperature. The E-induced phase transformation and lattice distortion were found to lead to the E control of magnetism in multiferroic BiFeO3-based solid solutions near the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB).
Multiferroic materials, with magnetic and ferroelectric properties, are promising for multifunctional memory devices. Magnetoelectric-based control methods in insulating multiferroic materials require less energy and have potential for high-speed, low-power information storage applications. BiFeO3 is a room-temperature multiferroic material with potential for use in spintronics devices, but its weak ferromagnetic and magnetoelectric effects and high voltage required for manipulation are weaknesses. In their recent study, the researchers grew single crystals of the multiferroic 0.58BiFeO3-0.42Bi0.5K0.5TiO3 (BF-BKT), which lies in the tetragonal region adjacent to the MPB.