Magnetoelectric coupling in BaTiO3/(NiFe2O4/BaTiO3)n (n=1,2,3,4) multilayered thin films

Abstract

Multilayered heterostructures, BaTiO3/(NiFe2O4/BaTiO3)n (n=1,2,3,4), with alternating ferroelectric BaTiO3 and ferrimagnetic NiFe2O4 layers were epitaxially grown on (001)-SrTiO3 substrates via pulsed laser deposition technique. The multilayered heterostructures with a total thickness of about 120 nm preserved ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties at room temperature, strongly depending on the number n due to interface and thickness size effect. The influence of the interface on the magnetoelectric coupling effect in the multilayered thin films were further confirmed by observed increasing magnetoelectric coefficients with the number n.