Electric field induced magnetic anisotropy transition from fourfold to twofold symmetry in (001) 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3-0.32PbTiO3/Fe0.86Si0.14 epitaxial heterostructures

The epitaxial growth of FeSi film on (001) 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O-3-0.32PbTiO(3) (PMN-0.32PT) was fabricated by sputtering and confirmed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. A fourfold symmetric angular remanent magnetization curve of as-deposited FeSi thin film is well fitted theoretically by considering the cubic magnetocrystalline anisotropy. We found that the fourfold anisotropy decreases slightly when an electric field (E) is applied on the Pt/PMN-0.32PT/FeSi/Ta heterostructures with Pt layer as the positive electrode. However, a magnetic anisotropy transition from fourfold anisotropy to twofold anisotropy occurs under negative E. The strain-electric field curve suggests that the observed different variation trend of magnetic anisotropy results from the asymmetric strain response on the polarity of E. Moreover, once the transition happens, it was irreversible unless the heterostructures are heated above the phase transition temperature of PMN-0.32PT. (C) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC.