Electric field control of magnetization in polycrystalline ZnO film

Abstract

A polycrystalline ZnO film is grown on a silicon substrate by the pulsed laser deposition method, and the electric field-induced magnetization in ZnO using an optical cantilever beam magnetometer setup is studied. The magnetization vs bipolar dc electric field measurements reveal the occurrence of magnetization switching in the ZnO film. The magnetization switching in the presence of an electric field is ascribed to the converse magnetoelectric (ME) coupling that takes place between the electrical and the magnetic order parameters existing in the ZnO film. We have found the strain-driven magnetization change as evidenced by the butterfly shape of the magnetization vs the electric field curve. A saturation magnetization of 13.31 MA/m is obtained. Moreover, a significant value of the ME coupling coefficient (α) (1.61 × 10−7 s/m) has also been reported in this article. The emergence of electric field-induced magnetization in a single polycrystalline ZnO film is regarded to be a very promising aspect in designing high-density energy-efficient spintronic and different multifunctional devices.