Tailoring magnetic anisotropy at the ferromagnetic/ferroelectric interface

It is predicted that magnetic anisotropy of a thin magnetic film may be affected by the polarization of a ferroelectric material. Using a Fe/BaTiO3 bilayer as a representative model and performing first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that a reversal of the electric polarization of BaTiO3 produces a sizable change in magnetic anisotropy energy of Fe films. Tailoring the magnetic anisotropy of a nanomagnet by an adjacent ferroelectric material may yield entirely new device concepts, such as electric-field controlled magnetic data storage. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.