Piezoelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of the flexible layered Ni/PVDF-TrFE/Ni structures

A study of the magnetoelectric properties of layered structures based on polyvinylidene fluoride trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) and nickel films of various thicknesses is presented.The value of the piezoelectric coefficient d33 for prepolarized samples was ∼33pC/N. The maximum value of the magnetoelectric coefficient of 110 mV/A is observed for structures with a nickel coating with a thickness of hNi = 40 μm on each side. It has been established that the piezoelectric coefficient decreases with increasing nickel coating thickness from 24pC/N structures with hNi = 10 μm to 18pC/N at hNi = 40 μm. The specific magnetostriction of nickel coatings changes insignificantly with changes in the film thickness. The increase in the ME coefficient is due to the joint contribution from the decreasing piezoelectric modulus and the increasing magnetostriction of the composite. The resulting layered heterostructures retain flexibility and have a high linear ME coefficient in the low-frequency region, which makes it possible to use such materials in the development of flexible energy harvesters.