Energy-efficient electric control of magnetization in polymer-based magnetoelectrics for spintronic applications

Abstract Magnetoelectric composites are emerging as a promising material solution for spintronic magnetic memory devices, offering high-speed data access and enhanced energy efficiency. Here, we investigate magnetoelectric coupling in polymer-based nanocomposites of polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene with magnetostrictive fillers spanning nanoscale to microscale dimensions. We systematically analyze how filler particle size and magnetostriction influence magnetization dynamics, coercivity, and the converse magnetoelectric coefficient. Larger particles (≈5 µm) show superior weighted magnetoelectric coefficients ( α ’/wt%) relative to nanoscale fillers, attributed to enhanced strain transfer and multi-domain magnetic behavior. Notably, electrical poling promotes magnetization in composites with smaller particles (10–30 nm), inducing a shift from hard-axis to easy-axis magnetization. For spintronic applications, the converse magnetoelectric effect generates magnetic fields up to 32 Oe—two orders of magnitude greater than the switching field required to manipulate free-layer spins in certain spintronic devices, underscoring significant potential for high-performance spintronic applications.