First-principles study of interfacial magnetoelectric coupling in Fe3Ga/BaTiO3/Fe3Ga heterostructure

Electrically controlled magnetism is highly desirable for future magnetic memories and spintronic devices. In this work, magnetoelectric (ME) coupling at the interfaces in the Fe3Ga/BaTiO3/Fe3Ga heterostructure is investigated by using first-principles calculations. It is found that the ME coupling in the Fe3Ga/BaTiO3/Fe3Ga heterostructure originates from interfacial bonding, which results in a changed magnetization of interfacial atoms when the ferroelectric layer reverses its polarization direction. The results of electronic density of states indicate that the induced magnetization arises from the changed hybridization state among the d-orbitals of interfacial Fe and Ti atoms. The ME coefficient of the Fe3Ga/BaTiO3 bilayer structure is estimated to be 4.13x10(B)(-7)m/V from the change of magnetic moment induced by polarization reversal, providing a theoretical guidance on further development of multiferroic heterostructures for potential multifunctional device applications.