Electric field control of nonvolatile four-state magnetization at room temperature

TL;DR

This study demonstrates room-temperature electric field control of nonvolatile four-state magnetization in a multiferroic hexaferrite, enabling potential applications in low-power spintronic devices through large converse magnetoelectric effects.

Contribution

The paper reports the first observation of four nonvolatile magnetization states controlled by electric fields at room temperature in a single crystal multiferroic material.

Findings

Large converse magnetoelectric effects at room temperature.

Four distinct nonvolatile magnetization states achieved.

Magnetization modulation up to 0.62 μB/f.u. with electric field.

Abstract

We find the realization of large converse magnetoelectric (ME) effects at room temperature in a multiferroic hexaferrite Ba$_{0.52}$Sr$_{2.48}$Co$_{2}$Fe$_{24}$O$_{41}$ single crystal, in which rapid change of electric polarization in low magnetic fields (about 5 mT) is coined to a large ME susceptibility of 3200 ps/m. The modulation of magnetization then reaches up to 0.62 $\mu$$_{B}$/f.u. in an electric field of 1.14 MV/m. We find further that four ME states induced by different ME poling exhibit unique, nonvolatile magnetization versus electric field curves, which can be approximately described by an effective free energy with a distinct set of ME coefficients.