Enhanced Magnetoelectric Effects in Self-Assembled Hemispherical Close-Packed CoFe2O3-Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 Thin Film

Abstract

With their promising enhanced magnetoelectric (ME) effects and multifunctional properties, 2D ME materials are garnering considerable research interest. However, experimental studies regarding ME effects are sparse. In order to enhance ME properties, it may be important to develop a strategy to prepare ordered ME thin film materials on suitable substrates. Materials ought to possess high surface area and less area of contact with the substrate. We investigate ME thin films consisting of CoFe2O4 (CFO)/Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT)/LaNiO3·(LNO) on a Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate that were prepared using a radio-frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The method helps to relax the in-plane constraint force and enhances the coexistence of the ferromagnetic and ferroelectric phases at the interface of the materials. Interestingly, the freestanding hemispherical ME thin films exhibited huge changes in magnetic field-induced polarization. Compared with planar CFO/PZT thin films of similar dimensions, the measured polarization was more than twice as large in the freestanding hemispherical ME thin films. This facile physicochemical technique for preparing highly efficient, hierarchically ordered micro/nano-magnetoelectric thin films may be used for the fabrication of miniaturized devices.