Emerging Technologies and Opportunities Based on the Magneto-Electric Effect in Multiferroic Composites
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1161-I05-04
MRS Spring Meeting 2009
Invited paper Number 574174
Emerging Technologies and Opportunities Based on the MagnetoElectric Effect in Multiferroic Composites Marian Vopsaroiu, John Blackburn, Markys G. Cain National Physical Laboratory, Teddington TW11 0LW, United Kingdom
ABSTRACT Multiferroic materials are recognized today as one of the new emerging technologies with huge potential for both academic research and commercial developments. Multiferroic composites are in particular more attractive for studies due to their enhanced properties, especially at room temperature, in comparison to the single-phase multiferroics. In this paper, we examine some of the theoretical aspects regarding one type of multiferroic composites (laminated structures) and we discuss one of the many possible applications of these exciting structures. We highlight the main advantages composite systems have over single-phase multiferroics and the similarities that exist between them.
INTRODUCTION Continued advances in high technologies, electronics and computing are possible due to the continue miniaturization of solid-state electronics. This is achieved by reducing the physical size of the active element (i.e. memory element, logic gate, transistor, etc) or by engineering new materials with multifunctional features capable of performing more than one operation / function in the same physical volume. Multiferroic (MF) materials are excellent candidates for new technologies and applications because they exhibit multiple cooperative phenomena (i.e. magnetic ordering, electric ordering and piezo effects or ferro-elasticity). Moreover, these intrinsic cooperative phenomena can be coupled to each other via the magneto-electric (ME) effect or via the strain mediated (STME) effect, opening up the possibility to create voltage control of magnetization or electric polarization tuning via an external applied magnetic field. So far, a number of important applications based on the ME effect have been proposed or developed, mostly in bulk MF composite materials. Some of the most important applications are: ac magnetic field sensors [1], DC magnetic field sensors [2], current sensors [3], transformers and gyrators [4], microwave devices [5], FMR resonators and filters [6], electric field tuneable FMR phase shifters [7] and hybrid spintronic - MF devices as potential MRAM type of memory element [8]. In this paper we focused our attention on the advantages that composite MFs have against single phase MFs. We also discuss the implications of the strain mediated ME coupling in MF composites and we introduce some theoretical aspects of the composite MFs, with emphasis on a specific structure: a tri-layer laminated MF bar. This type of thin film MF device is then applied to the design of a magnetic recording read head sensor presented in the final section of this paper. A direct comparison between current magneto-resistive technologies used in magnetic recording read heads and the new proposed MF read head technology is given. Theoretical calculatio
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