Nature of magnetic domains in an exchange coupled BiFeO3/CoFe heterostructure

Abstract

We use the micromagnetic model to simulate magnetization in a multidomain BiFeO3(BFO)/CoFe bilayer. We show that CoFe couples to weak ferromagnetism on the BFO surface and breaks into domains that correspond exactly with BFO domains. Switching the direction of the BFO spins switches the corresponding CoFe domains and reverses the net magnetization. Since magnetization is coupled to polarization in BFO, this demonstrates a mechanism for controlling magnetization reversal with an electric field. Comparison with experimental values of BFO surface moment and hysteresis allows us to extract BFO/CoFe exchange and spin canting energies and predict behavior for domains of varying sizes. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.