Theory Department
Max Planck Institute of Microstructure Physics
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Fechner, M., Zahn, P., Ostanin, S., Bibes, M., Mertig, I.

Switching magnetization by 180° with an electric field
Physical Review Letters 108, (19),pp 197206/1-5 (2012)
Magnetoelectric coupling allows for manipulating the magnetization by an external electric field or the electrical polarization by an external magnetic field. Here, we propose a mechanism to electrically induce 180° magnetization switching combining two effects: the magnetoelectric coupling at a multiferroic interface and magnetic interlayer exchange coupling. By means of first-principles methods, we investigate a ferroelectric layer in contact with a Fe/Au/Fe trilayer. The calculations show that the interface magnetism is strongly coupled to the ferroelectric layer. Furthermore, under certain conditions a reversal of polarization causes a sign reversal of the interlayer exchange coupling which is results in a 180° switching of the free layer magnetization. We argue that this magnetoelectric coupling mechanism is very robust and can find applications in magnetic data storage.

TH-2012-62