Nanoscale magnetoelectric effects revealed by imaging

Abstract We review our work on continuous Ni films coupled via strain to ferroelectric substrates of BaTiO3 (BTO) and 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 (PMN-PT). We show that magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and photoemission electron microscopy (PEEM) of the Ni films (during or after electrical treatment) permit to reveal nanoscale converse magnetoelectric effects (CMEs) that are novel and elude macroscopic measurements. As examples, we discuss magnetization reversal without applied field in multilayer capacitors (MLCs), shear-strain-mediated CMEs in thin Ni films on PMN-PT and reversible switching of perpendicular magnetization from out-of-plane to in-plane in Ni films on BTO. In this latter case, we show that PEEM can be used to measure both magnetic and ferroelectric domains, thus providing key mechanistic insight in the magnetoelectric coupling mechanism.