Ionic Modulation of the Interfacial Magnetism in a Bilayer System Comprising a Heavy Metal and a Magnetic Insulator for Voltage-Tunable Spintronic Devices

The voltage modulation of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is of practical and theoretical significance; due to its advantages of compactness, high-speed response, and energy efficiency, it can be used for various spintronic applications, including spin-Hall, spin-pumping, and spin-Seebeck effects. In this study, a significant ferromagnetic resonance change is achieved within the YIG/Pt bilayer heterostructures uisng ionic modulation, which is accomplished by modifying the interfacial magnetism in the deposited capping platinum layer. With a small voltage bias of 4.5 V, a large ferromagnetic field shift of 690 Oe is achieved in heterostructures of YIG (13 nm)/Pt (3 nm)/(ionic liquid, IL)/(Au capacitor). The remarkable magnetoelectric (ME) tunability comes from the additional and voltage-induced ferromagnetic ordering, caused by uncompensated d-orbital electrons in the Pt metal layer. Confirmed by first-principle calculations, this finding paves the way for novel voltage-tunable YIG-based spintronics.