# Giant magnetoelectric effect in pure manganite-manganite heterostructures

## TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a giant magnetoelectric effect in manganite heterostructures, where charge leakage induces multiferroicity and magnetic polarons, leading to strong coupling between electric and magnetic properties.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel heterostructure design that achieves strong magnetoelectric coupling through charge leakage and electron-phonon interactions, a significant advancement over previous bulk materials.

## Key findings

- Strong multiferroicity observed in heterostructures
- Giant magnetoelectric effect induced by external electric field
- Charge leakage from LaMnO3 to CaMnO3 enhances coupling

## Abstract

Obtaining strong magnetoelectric couplings in bulk materials and heterostructures is an ongoing challenge. We demonstrate that manganite heterostructures of the form ${\rm (Insulator)/(LaMnO_3)_n/(CaMnO_3)_n/(Insulator)}$ show strong multiferroicity in magnetic manganites where ferroelectric polarization is realized by charges leaking from ${\rm LaMnO_3}$ to ${\rm CaMnO_3}$ due to repulsion. Here, an effective nearest-neighbor electron-electron (electron-hole) repulsion (attraction) is generated by cooperative electron-phonon interaction. Double exchange, when a particle virtually hops to its unoccupied neighboring site and back, produces magnetic polarons that polarize antiferromagnetic regions. Thus a striking giant magnetoelectric effect ensues when an external electrical field enhances the electron leakage across the interface.