Ferroelectric control of magnetism in P(VDF–TrFE)/Co heterostructure

Multiferroic magnetoelectric composite systems such as ferroelectric and ferromagnetic heterostructures have attracted an interest recently and have the potential applications such as four state memories, magnetic sensor and spintronics. In this study, we focus on the ferroelectric copolymer/ferromagnetic Co multiferroic film. The ferroelectric copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene) was fabricated by Langmuir–Blodgett deposition technique. Large magnetization changes of the Co films emerge in response to ferroelectric switching of poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene) controlled by applied electric field. The magnetization of the Co films was detected by the magneto-optical Kerr effect system. Although ferroelectric polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene) have the lower piezoelectric coefficient about 30 pC/N than inorganic ferroelectrics, interface strain coupling is also the primary mechanism altering the induced magnetic anisotropy in the poly(vinylidene fluoride–trifluoroethylene)/Co heterostructure.