@article{33369,
  keywords = {Behavior, Anisotropy, Magnetism, Electric field, Memory, Ab initio calculations, Bilayer membrane},
  author = {G Zheng and S.-H Ke and M Miao and J Kim and Ramamoorthy Ramesh and N Kioussis},
  title = {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 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. © 2017 The Author(s).},
  year = {2017},
  journal = {Scientific Reports},
  volume = {7},
  number = {1},
  publisher = {Nature Publishing Group},
  issn = {20452322},
  doi = {10.1038/s41598-017-05611-7},
  note = {cited By 9},
  language = {eng},
}