Influence of the state of interfaces on the magnitude of the magnetoelectric effect in Co (Ni) films on PbZr0.45Ti0.55O3 and GaAs substrates

Abstract

Co (Ni) films on ceramic lead zirconate titanate (PbZr_0.45Ti_0.55O₃) ferroelectric substrates and single-crystal GaAs piezoelectric substrates are shown to exhibit a giant magnetoelectric response, which reaches 200 V/A at room temperature and mechanical Q of at least 1000. These findings are interpreted in terms of the formation of stable interfaces in thin-film heterostructures owing to good adhesion of dissimilar materials to substrate surfaces after ion beam sputtering/deposition processing. This will allow one to extend the applicability of the magnetoelectric effect at room temperature to commercially available microelectronic materials and integrate related hybrid structures into single-chip signal generation/processing devices.