Cyclable and non-volatile electric field control of magnetism in BiFeO3 based magnetoelectric heterostructures

Room temperature manipulation of the ferromagnetic state via an electric field is investigated in Ni/BiFe0.95Mn0.05O3 thin film heterostructures. A 600% increase in the magnetic coercive field of the Ni layer is observed at the initial DC electrical poling of the ferroelectric BiFe0.95Mn0.05O3 layer. The magnetoelectric effect is remanent, and the magnetic coercive field can be modulated between a low value and a high value by successively switching the ferroelectric polarization. After the initial poling, the coercive field difference is decreased by subsequent back and forth switching. However, the magnetic bi-stability is preserved at least up to 250 cycles, which is promising for spintronic applications.