Comment on "Using Dipole Interaction to Achieve Nonvolatile Voltage Control of Magnetism in Multiferroic Heterostructures" [Adv. Mater., 2021, 2105902]

TL;DR

This paper critically evaluates a recent claim about nonvolatile magnetization control via dipole interaction in multiferroic heterostructures, providing a correction and alternative explanation to the original findings.

Contribution

It refutes the previous claim that dipole interaction can achieve nonvolatile magnetization switching and offers a corrected understanding of the underlying physics.

Findings

Dipole interaction cannot cause the claimed nonvolatile switching.

The original explanation by Chen et al. is incorrect.

An alternative explanation for the observed effects is proposed.

Abstract

In a recent article, A. Chen et al. claimed that they have switched (rotated by ~90 degrees) the magnetization of the soft layer of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) in a non-volatile way with volatile strain by exploiting dipole interaction with the hard layer. I show that dipole interaction cannot cause this effect and the authors' explanation cannot be correct. An alternate explanation is offered.