Magnetoelectric Effects at the BiFeO3/Fe Interface: A First Principles Study

We theoretically investigated the electronic structures and magnetoelectric properties of BiFeO3/Fe heterostructure based on the first-principles calculations. We found that the magnetic coupling of the epitaxial Fe layer in the BiFeO3/Fe heterostructure can be tuned by external electric filed, which means the ferroelectronic state could control the magnetic ordering structure of the Fe layer. The corresponding magnetic-electric coupling coefficient was one order of magnitude higher than that for BaTiO3/Fe.