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  • Review Article
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Control of magnetism by electric fields

Nature Nanotechnology volume 10, pages 209–220 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

The electrical manipulation of magnetism and magnetic properties has been achieved across a number of different material systems. For example, applying an electric field to a ferromagnetic material through an insulator alters its charge-carrier population. In the case of thin films of ferromagnetic semiconductors, this change in carrier density in turn affects the magnetic exchange interaction and magnetic anisotropy; in ferromagnetic metals, it instead changes the Fermi level position at the interface that governs the magnetic anisotropy of the metal. In multiferroics, an applied electric field couples with the magnetization through electrical polarization. This Review summarizes the experimental progress made in the electrical manipulation of magnetization in such materials, discusses our current understanding of the mechanisms, and finally presents the future prospects of the field.

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Figure 1: Electric-field effects in a (Ga,Mn)As channel.
Figure 2: Electric-field-defined ferromagnetic nanodots.
Figure 3: Electric-field effects in ferromagnetic metals.
Figure 4: Using an electric-field pulse to reverse the magnetization and polarization in BiFeO3.
Figure 5: Electric-field control of exchange bias and tunnel magnetoresistance.
Figure 6: Electric-field control of ferromagnetic moment in RFeO3 (R = Dy0.7Gd0.3).
Figure 7: Electrically active magnetic resonance, electromagnon and optical magnetoelectric effect in (Eu,Y)MnO3.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank T. Dietl and S. Kanai for discussions, as well as Y. Tokunaga and Y. Takahashi for useful discussions and help in preparing the manuscript. The work was supported in part by JSPS through the FIRST programme, and Research and Development Project for ICT Key Technology of MEXT.

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  1. WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, 980-8577, Sendai, Japan

    Fumihiro Matsukura & Hideo Ohno

  2. Center for Spintronics Integrated Systems, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, 980-8577, Sendai, Japan

    Fumihiro Matsukura & Hideo Ohno

  3. Laboratory for Nanoelectronics and Spintronics, Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, 980-8577, Sendai, Japan

    Fumihiro Matsukura & Hideo Ohno

  4. RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, Wako, 351-0198, Saitama, Japan

    Yoshinori Tokura

  5. Department of Applied Physics, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, 113-8656, Tokyo, Japan

    Yoshinori Tokura

Authors
  1. Fumihiro Matsukura
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  2. Yoshinori Tokura
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  3. Hideo Ohno
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hideo Ohno.

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Matsukura, F., Tokura, Y. & Ohno, H. Control of magnetism by electric fields. Nature Nanotech 10, 209–220 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2015.22

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