Magnetoelectric coupling and spin-dependent tunneling in Fe/PbTiO3/Fe multiferroic heterostructure with a Ni monolayer inserted at one interface

Abstract

We report on first-principles calculations of a Ni monolayer inserted at one interface in the epitaxial Fe/PbTiO3/Fe multiferroic heterostructure, focusing on the magnetoelectric coupling and the spin-dependent transport properties. The results of magnetoelectric coupling calculations reveal an attractive approach to realize cumulative magnetoelectric effects in the ferromagnetic/ferroelectric/ferromagnetic superlattices. The underlying physics is attributed to the combinations of several different magnetoelectric coupling mechanisms such as interface bonding, spin-dependent screening, and different types of magnetic interactions. We also demonstrate that inserting a Ni monolayer at one interface in the Fe/PbTiO3/Fe multiferroic tunnel junction is an efficient method to produce considerable tunneling electroresistance effect by modifying the tunnel potential barrier and the interfacial electronic structure. Furthermore, coexistence of tunneling magnetoresistance and tunneling electroresistance leads to the emergence of four distinct resistance states, which can be served as a multistate-storage device. The complicated influencing factors including bulk properties of the ferromagnetic electrodes, decay rates of the evanescent states in the tunnel barrier, and the specific interfacial electronic structure provide us promising opportunities to design novel multiferroic tunnel junctions with excellent performances.