A simple bilayered magnetoelectric random access memory cell based on electric-field controllable domain structure

By considering the domain wall scattering in ferromagnetic striped-domain structure, we present a simple bilayered magnetoelectric random access memory cell with a ferromagnetic thin film grown on a ferroelectric layer. The calculations show that the striped-domain structure in the ferromagnetic film can change into a single-domain structure upon applying an electric field to the ferroelectric layer. As a result, the presence (absence) of the domain walls in response to the striped-domain (single-domain) state can cause an abrupt change in the film resistivity, which could be employed for memory applications accordingly. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3463408]