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Electric field effect on magnetism is an appealing technique for manipulating magnetization at a low energy cost. Here, we show that the local magnetization of an ultrathin Co film can be switched by simply applying a gate electric field without the assistance of any external magnetic field or current flow. The local magnetization switching is explained by nucleation and annihilation of magnetic domains through domain wall motion induced by the electric field. Our results lead to external-field-free and ultralow-energy spintronic applications.

The electric field (EF) effect on the magnetic domain structure of a Pt/Co system was studied, where an EF was applied to the top surface of the Co layer. The width of the maze domain was significantly modified by the application of the EF at a temperature slightly below the Curie temperature. After a detailed analysis, a change in the exchange stiffness induced by the EF application was suggested to dominate the modulation of the domain width observed in the experiment. The accumulation of electrons at the surface of the Co layer resulted in an increase of the exchange stiffness and the Curie temperature. The result was consistent with the recent theoretical prediction., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

Electric-field modulations of magnetic properties have been extensively studied not only for practical applications but also for fundamental interest. In this study, we investigated the electric field effect on the exchange interaction in ultrathin Co films with ionic liquids. The exchange coupling J was characterized from the direct magnetization measurement as a function of temperature using Pt/ultrathin Co/MgO structures. The trend of the electric field effect on J is in good agreement with that of the theoretical prediction, and a large change in J by applying a gate voltage was observed by forming an electric double layer using ionic liquids.

A creep motion of the magnetic domain wall (DW) in a perpendicularly magnetized Co wire, where the DW energy is artificially varied by applying a sloped electric field, is studied. Under the sloped electric field and a constant external magnetic field, the DW velocity gradually changes according to the position of the wire owing to the spatially varying DW energy. Although the sloped DW energy can be a source to drive a DW, no clear electric-field-induced DW motion is observed, most likely because the effective magnetic field induced by the sloped electric field is very small in the present system.

The electric field control of superparamagnetism is realized using a Cu/Ni system, in which the deposited Ni shows superparamagnetic behavior above the blocking temperature. An electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) with the Cu/Ni electrode and a nonmagnetic counter electrode is fabricated to examine the electric field effect on magnetism in the magnetic electrode. By changing the voltage applied to the EDLC, the blocking temperature of the system is clearly modulated.

In this study, we have investigated perpendicular magnetic anisotropy in a MgO/Co/Pt structure under an electric field. The change in the interface anisotropy energy in a MgO/Co stack upon the application of a gate voltage was determined by using a transport measurement technique. The result indicates that a decrease in the electron number at the surface of the Co layer leads to the enhancement of the perpendicular anisotropy energy at a temperature sufficiently lower than the Curie temperature.

In this study, we have investigated magnetic domain wall motion under gate electric fields in a perpendicularly magnetized Co/Pt wire. The motion under a transparent gate electrode was directly monitored using a magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope. The domain wall velocity was determined as a function of temperature and gate voltage. It was found that this velocity could be modulated by up to two orders of magnitude by changing the gate voltage.