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Abstract The manipulation of antiferromagnetic order in magnetoelectric Cr 2 O 3 using electric field has been of great interest due to its potential in low-power electronics. The substantial leakage and low dielectric breakdown observed in twinned Cr 2 O 3 thin films, however, hinders its development in energy efficient spintronics. To compensate, large film thicknesses (250 nm or greater) have been employed at the expense of device scalability. Recently, epitaxial V 2 O 3 thin film electrodes have been used to eliminate twin boundaries and significantly reduce the leakage of 300 nm thick single crystal films. Here we report the electrical endurance and magnetic properties of thin (less than 100 nm) single crystal Cr 2 O 3 films on epitaxial V 2 O 3 buffered Al 2 O 3 (0001) single crystal substrates. The growth of Cr 2 O 3 on isostructural V 2 O 3 thin film electrodes helps eliminate the existence of twin domains in Cr 2 O 3 films, therefore significantly reducing leakage current and increasing dielectric breakdown. 60 nm thick Cr 2 O 3 films show bulk-like resistivity (~ 10 12 Ω cm) with a breakdown voltage in the range of 150–300 MV/m. Exchange bias measurements of 30 nm thick Cr 2 O 3 display a blocking temperature of ~ 285 K while room temperature optical second harmonic generation measurements possess the symmetry consistent with bulk magnetic order. 

Abstract Magnetostrictive materials transduce magnetic and mechanical energies and when combined with piezoelectric elements, evoke magnetoelectric transduction for high-sensitivity magnetic field sensors and energy-efficient beyond-CMOS technologies. The dearth of ductile, rare-earth-free materials with high magnetostrictive coefficients motivates the discovery of superior materials. Fe 1− x Ga x alloys are amongst the highest performing rare-earth-free magnetostrictive materials; however, magnetostriction becomes sharply suppressed beyond x  = 19% due to the formation of a parasitic ordered intermetallic phase. Here, we harness epitaxy to extend the stability of the BCC Fe 1− x Ga x alloy to gallium compositions as high as x  = 30% and in so doing dramatically boost the magnetostriction by as much as 10x relative to the bulk and 2x larger than canonical rare-earth based magnetostrictors. A Fe 1− x Ga x − [Pb(Mg 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 ] 0.7 −[PbTiO 3 ] 0.3 (PMN-PT) composite magnetoelectric shows robust 90° electrical switching of magnetic anisotropy and a converse magnetoelectric coefficient of 2.0 × 10 −5  s m −1 . When optimally scaled, this high coefficient implies stable switching at ~80 aJ per bit.