Magnetoelectric nano-Fe3O4/CoFe2O4∥PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3 composite

A new magnetoelectric hybrid device composed of a nanoparticulate magnetostrictive iron oxide-cobalt ferrite film on a piezoelectric lead zirconic titanate crystal serving as both substrate and straining medium is described. Nano-Fe(3)O(4)/CoFe(2)O(4) particles, ranging from 5 to 42 nm, were prepared using a variation of the sol-gel method. A small electric field, 5-10 kV cm(-1), applied at the coercive field of the nano-Fe(3)O(4)/CoFe(2)O(4) component modulates the film magnetization up to 10% of the saturation magnetization of ferrite. At the smallest particle size of 5 nm, the coercive field is as low as 25 Oe and the inverse ME(E) voltage coefficient is as high as (10.1 V / cm Oe)(-1). (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.