Abstract
Manipulation of the magnetic behavior of materials with voltage (i.e., magnetoelectric actuation) has become a topic of intense research during the last years. Apart from its obvious interest from a basic science standpoint, control and eventual switching of the magnetization without applying any external magnetic field (or spin polarized current) has the potential to drastically reduce the power consumption of magnetic devices due to the lack (or minimization) of Joule heating dissipation effects. Herein, an overview of the state-of-the-art of electrolyte-gated magnetoelectric actuation (where an electric field is applied using an electrolyte, either liquid or solid) is provided. The different types of mechanisms responsible for voltage-driven magnetic actuation (surface charging, ionic migration, also termed “magneto-ionics,” reduction/oxidation reactions, and ferroelectric/ferromagnetic coupling) are summarized. The various effects (changes in coercivity, anisotropy easy axis, exchange bias field, saturation magnetization, Curie temperature, etc.) observed in the different types of materials investigated so far (mainly metallic thin films and semiconductors, porous alloys, and nanocomposite structures) are described. The potential applications of electrolyte-gated magnetoelectric actuation in devices as well as the current challenges in the field are also reviewed with the aim of providing the basic ingredients for further prospects and technological advancements in this area.
Highlights
Magnetic devices, such as micro-/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), computer hard disks, magnetoresistive random-access memories (MRAMs), or spintronic systems, are conventionally operated using magnetic fields
In MRAMs, the spin switching is achieved by passing a current through a neighboring metallic strip which generates the magnetic field
We focus on the most relevant studies dealing with electrolyte-gating as a means to generate ultra-high electric fields and the new types of materials, electrolytes, and experimental configurations that have led to unprecedented results on magnetoelectric actuation of materials during the last fewyears
Summary
Magnetic devices, such as micro-/nano-electromechanical systems (MEMS/NEMS), computer hard disks, magnetoresistive random-access memories (MRAMs), or spintronic systems, are conventionally operated using magnetic fields. Besides strain and electric surface charging, voltage can induce changes in the oxidation state of ferromagnetic (FM) metallic alloys (i.e., reduction/oxidation reactions or oxygen ion migration), when these alloys are immersed in aqueous electrolytes or grown in direct contact with an ionically conducting oxide buffer layer (i.e., solid electrolyte).. Besides strain and electric surface charging, voltage can induce changes in the oxidation state of ferromagnetic (FM) metallic alloys (i.e., reduction/oxidation reactions or oxygen ion migration), when these alloys are immersed in aqueous electrolytes or grown in direct contact with an ionically conducting oxide buffer layer (i.e., solid electrolyte).12–24 This approach was first carried out by immersing metallic films and nanoporous metallic alloys in aqueous electrolytes.. We focus on the most relevant studies dealing with electrolyte-gating as a means to generate ultra-high electric fields (resulting in huge magnetoelectric effects) and the new types of materials, electrolytes, and experimental configurations that have led to unprecedented results on magnetoelectric actuation of materials during the last fewyears
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