Electric field control of magnetism using BiFeO3-based heterostructures

Conventional CMOS based logic and magnetic based data storage devices require the shuttling of electrons for data processing and storage. As these devices are scaled to increasingly smaller dimensions in the pursuit of speed and storage density, significant energy dissipation in the form of heat has become a center stage issue for the microelectronics industry. By taking advantage of the strong correlations between ferroic orders in multiferroics, specifically the coupling between ferroelectric and magnetic orders (magnetoelectricity), new device functionalities with ultra-low energy consumption can be envisioned. In this article, we review the advances and highlight challenges toward this goal with a particular focus on the room temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic, BiFeO3, exchange coupled to a ferromagnet. We summarize our understanding of the nature of exchange coupling and the mechanisms of the voltage control of ferromagnetism observed in these heterostructures. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.