INTERFACIAL STRAIN-MEDIATED MAGNETOELECTRIC COUPLING AS REFLECTED IN EXTENDED X-RAY ABSORPTION SPECTRA OF COFE2O4-DISPERSED PB(ZR,TI)O-3 MATRIX COMPOSITES

Abstract

An atomic-scale picture of the strain-mediated magnetoelectric (ME) coupling is delineated by carefully examining the effect of an applied electric field on the extended X-ray absorption. ne structure (EXAFS) spectra of a CoFe2O4-dispersed Pb(Zr,Ti)O-3 matrix (CFO-PZT) composite. These studies demonstrated a tensile-compressive strain relation between the PZT matrix and the dispersed CFO phase, thereby providing an X-ray spectroscopic evidence of the interfacial strain-mediated ME coupling. Both the dielectric anomaly observed at similar to 480 degrees C and the decrease in the remanent magnetization under an applied electric field support the strain-mediated ME coupling in the CFO-PZT composite. (C() 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.