Voltage-driven strain-induced coexistence of both volatile and non-volatile interfacial magnetoelectric behaviors in LSMO/PMN-PT (0 0 1)

We report on the inhomogeneous electric field response of the magnetization in a La1−xSrxMnO3 (LSMO) film on a ferroelectric [Pb(Mg1/2Nb2/3)O3]1−x-[PbTiO3]x (PMN-PT) substrate. X-ray diffraction patterns of the LSMO film confirm successful epitaxial growth of LSMO along the [0 0 1] orientation of PMN-PT, where a sudden lattice relaxation in the LSMO film occurs due to a large lattice mismatch. The LSMO film exhibits magnetic anisotropy that lies in-plane and isotropic in all directions of the plane with a Curie temperature of 345 K. The polarization versus electric field (P–E) loop shows that a sharp switching of electric dipoles occurs and the switching field decreases with decreasing maximum applied electric field. The coexistence of hysteresis-like (non-volatile) and butterfly-like (volatile) behavior of the voltage induced Kerr signal is observed. We consider that 109° switching of the ferroelectric domains is responsible for the rotation of magnetic easy axis that results in the hysteresis like behavior while 71° and 180° switching of the ferroelectric polarization has no effect on the magnetic anisotropy, leading to the butterfly-like behavior.