Magnetoelectric coupling in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3—Galfenol thin film heterostructures

Heterostructures of piezoelectric Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 and magnetostrictive Galfenol were fabricated by sputtering and pulsed laser deposition on platinized Si substrates with the aim to induce a magnetoelectric coupling between the layers of the two materials. In this study, no intermediate layer was introduced between Pb(Zr0.56Ti0.44)O3 and Galfenol in contrast to most of the previous thin films studies. The obtained magnetoelectric coupling constant is in the range of 6–7 V/(cm Oe), indicating that an undisturbed piezoelectric-magnetostrictive interface can outbalance small deteriorations of the ferroic properties of the active materials.