Nanostructured magnetoelectric thin films of ferroelectric perovskite and magnetic oxides

Abstract

Nanostructured thin films of ferroelectric (e.g., BaTiO3, PZT, and BiFeO3) and magnetic oxides (e.g., cobalt-ferrites and nickel-ferrites) prepared by physical deposition techniques (e.g., pulsed laser deposition) and chemical solution processing (e.g., sol-gel spin-coating method) have recently become new routes to multiferroic magnetoelectric (ME) composites. In comparison to bulk ME ceramic composites, the nanostructured thin films provide more degrees of freedom, such as lattice strain or interlayer interaction, for modifying the ME behavior. These films also offers a way to investigate the physical mechanism of the ME effect in nanoscale. The coupling interaction between two oxides in the ME nanostructures could be still due to an elastic interaction as was the case in bulk composites. However, the mechanical constraints arising from the film-on-substrate structure and the bonding between the two nanostructurd phases could significantly affect the ME coupl!