Magnetodielectric effect in trilayered Co65Fe35B20/PVDF/Co65Fe35B20 composite materials. Prediction and measurement for tunable microwave applications

Abstract

The variation in the permeability of a multilayered polyvinylidene fluoride/CoFeB (piezoelectric/magnetostrictive) composite material under the action of a dc voltage is demonstrated. The driven-voltage permeability is first predicted using a finite element method-based multiphysics calculation. The simulation allows us to determine a magnetic anisotropy field of 45 Oe induced in the ferromagnetic layers by the mechanical coupling between magnetostrictive and piezoelectric layers due to the applied dc voltage. A variation of 30% for the permeability of the ferromagnetic layers is then measured using a radiofrequency permeameter and under the application of a dc voltage of 15 V applied on the ferromagnetic layers, which also act as electrodes for the bias of the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). An additional measurement of the trilayered structure under the application of a dc magnetic field is finally performed to evaluate the magnetic field needed to get a 30% variation in the magnetic layers permeability in order to compare this value to the one predicted by multiphysics calculation. These experimental results are in good agreement with calculations and are very encouraging for the application of the CoFeB/PVDF/CoFeB composite material to ensure the tunability of microwave devices (filters, phase shifters, antennas, etc.)