Converse magneto-electric effects in a core–shell multiferroic nanofiber by electric field tuning of ferromagnetic resonance

Abstract

This report is on studies directed at the nature of magneto-electric (ME) coupling by ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) under an electric field in a coaxial nanofiber of nickel ferrite (NFO) and lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Fibers with ferrite cores and PZT shells were prepared by electrospinning. The core–shell structure of annealed fibers was confirmed by electron- and scanning probe microscopy. For studies on converse ME effects, i.e., the magnetic response of the fibers to an applied electric field, FMR measurements were done on a single fiber with a near-field scanning microwave microscope (NSMM) at 5–10 GHz by obtaining profiles of both amplitude and phase of the complex scattering parameter S11 as a function of bias magnetic field. The strength of the voltage-ME coupling Av was determined from the shift in the resonance field Hr for bias voltage of V = 0–7 V applied to the fiber. The coefficient Av for the NFO core/PZT shell structure was estimated to be − 1.92 kA/Vm (− 24 Oe/V). A model was developed for the converse ME effects in the fibers and the theoretical estimates are in good agreement with the data.