Structure, electrical, optical and magnetoelectric properties of magnetron sputtered nanocrystalline NiFe/BaTiO3 thin films

BaTiO3 (BTO) and NiFe films grown on SrTiO3 (STO), Nb:SrTiO3 (NSTO), and ITO-glass substrates were prepared by radio-frequency (RF) and direct-current (DC) magnetron sputtering, respectively. The microstructure, ferroelectricity, leakage current, magnetoelectric (ME) coupling, ultraviolet–visible light spectrum, optical band gap, ellipsometry spectrum and surface morphology of the composite film are characterized by XRD, ferroelectric analyzer, ME coupling test system, U-4100, Horiba Smart SE and AFM. In addition, the stress, strain and piezoelectric voltage of the magnetoelectric composite film under the action of DC and AC magnetic fields are simulated by COMSOL multiphysics software. The experimental results show that the prepared composite film is polycrystalline, the surface roughness of the film is better, and the particles are uniform. The magnetoelectric coupling voltage gradually increases with the increase of the value of the DC magnetic field and the frequency of the AC magnetic field, and it has a larger absorption (about 0.3) at 340 nm. In addition, the simulation results also show the relationship between the coupling voltage VME and the applied magnetic field H.