Effects of magnetic electrode on the ferroelectric properties in heteroepitaxial BiFeO3/La0.625Ca0.375MnO3 thin films.

The ferroelectric properties of the BiFeO₃/La_0.625Ca_0.375MnO₃ (BFO/LCMO) heterostructures were investigated using different bottom electrode configurations at different magnetic fields and temperatures. It is found that the apparent coercive voltage (V_ac) increases linearly with the increase of LCMO resistances for different electrodes, and the extrinsic relative contribution from different LCMO electrodes to the variation of V_ac caused by magnetic field can be quantitatively analyzed based on the scenario of voltage drop model. The magnetic field and temperature dependences of the heterostructure coercive voltage (V_ac0) obtained by subtracting the voltage drop on LCMO from V_ac are closely related to the interface behaviors. These findings not only further elucidate the physics of magnetoelectric coupling in multiferroic heterostructures but also are helpful for designing artificial prototype device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]