Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition
Abstract Electric-field-induced magnetic switching can lead to a new paradigm of ultra-low power nonvolatile magnetoelectric random access memory (MeRAM). To date the realization of MeRAM relies primarily on ferromagnetic (FM) based heterostructures which exhibit low voltage-controlled magnetic anis...
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doaj-ecf46934afbf4797a225758321e4167b2020-12-08T03:16:00ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222017-07-01711910.1038/s41598-017-05611-7Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transitionGuohui Zheng0San-Huang Ke1Maosheng Miao2Jinwoong Kim3R. Ramesh4Nicholas Kioussis5Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State University NorthridgeMOE Key Laboratory of Microstructured Materials, School of Physics Science and Engineering, Tongji UniversityDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, California State University NorthridgeDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, California State University NorthridgeMaterials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National LaboratoryDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, California State University NorthridgeAbstract Electric-field-induced magnetic switching can lead to a new paradigm of ultra-low power nonvolatile magnetoelectric random access memory (MeRAM). To date the realization of MeRAM relies primarily on ferromagnetic (FM) based heterostructures which exhibit low voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) efficiency. On the other hand, manipulation of magnetism in antiferromagnetic (AFM) based nanojunctions by purely electric field means (rather than E-field induced strain) remains unexplored thus far. Ab initio electronic structure calculations reveal that the VCMA of ultrathin FeRh/MgO bilayers exhibits distinct linear or nonlinear behavior across the AFM to FM metamagnetic transition depending on the Fe- or Rh-interface termination. We predict that the AFM Fe-terminated phase undergoes an E-field magnetization switching with large VCMA efficiency and a spin reorientation across the metamagnetic transition. In sharp contrast, while the Rh-terminated interface exhibits large out-of-plane (in-plane) MA in the FM (AFM) phase, its magnetization is more rigid to external E-field. These findings demonstrate that manipulation of the AFM Néel-order magnetization direction via purely E-field means can pave the way toward ultra-low energy AFM-based MeRAM devices.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05611-7 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Guohui Zheng San-Huang Ke Maosheng Miao Jinwoong Kim R. Ramesh Nicholas Kioussis |
spellingShingle |
Guohui Zheng San-Huang Ke Maosheng Miao Jinwoong Kim R. Ramesh Nicholas Kioussis Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition Scientific Reports |
author_facet |
Guohui Zheng San-Huang Ke Maosheng Miao Jinwoong Kim R. Ramesh Nicholas Kioussis |
author_sort |
Guohui Zheng |
title |
Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
title_short |
Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
title_full |
Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
title_fullStr |
Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
title_full_unstemmed |
Electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
title_sort |
electric field control of magnetization direction across the antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
series |
Scientific Reports |
issn |
2045-2322 |
publishDate |
2017-07-01 |
description |
Abstract Electric-field-induced magnetic switching can lead to a new paradigm of ultra-low power nonvolatile magnetoelectric random access memory (MeRAM). To date the realization of MeRAM relies primarily on ferromagnetic (FM) based heterostructures which exhibit low voltage-controlled magnetic anisotropy (VCMA) efficiency. On the other hand, manipulation of magnetism in antiferromagnetic (AFM) based nanojunctions by purely electric field means (rather than E-field induced strain) remains unexplored thus far. Ab initio electronic structure calculations reveal that the VCMA of ultrathin FeRh/MgO bilayers exhibits distinct linear or nonlinear behavior across the AFM to FM metamagnetic transition depending on the Fe- or Rh-interface termination. We predict that the AFM Fe-terminated phase undergoes an E-field magnetization switching with large VCMA efficiency and a spin reorientation across the metamagnetic transition. In sharp contrast, while the Rh-terminated interface exhibits large out-of-plane (in-plane) MA in the FM (AFM) phase, its magnetization is more rigid to external E-field. These findings demonstrate that manipulation of the AFM Néel-order magnetization direction via purely E-field means can pave the way toward ultra-low energy AFM-based MeRAM devices. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-05611-7 |
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