Extrinsic multiferroic hybrid structures consisting of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric layers elastically coupled to each other are promising due to their robust magnetoelectric effects even at room temperature. For a quantitative analysis of these magnetoelectric effects, a detailed knowledge of the piezoelectric and magnetoelastic behavior of both constituents as well as their mutual elastic coupling is mandatory. We here report on a theoretical and experimental study of the magnetic behavior of BaTiO${}_3$-based extrinsic multiferroic structures. An excellent agreement between molecular dynamics simulations and the experiments was found for Fe${}_{50}$Co${}_{50}$/BaTiO${}_3$ and Ni/BaTiO${}_3$ hybrid structures. This demonstrates that the magnetic behavior of extrinsic multiferroic hybrid structures can be determined by means of ab initio calculations, allowing for the design of novel multiferroic hybrids.

• Received 23 August 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.134432