Magnetoelectric memory function with optical readout

Abstract

The ultimate goal of multiferroic research is the development of new-generation non-volatile memory devices, the so-called magnetoelectric (ME) memories, where magnetic bits are controlled via electric fields without the application of electrical currents subject to dissipation. This low-power operation exploits the entanglement of the magnetization and the electric polarization coexisting in multiferroic materials. Here we demonstrate the optical readout of ME memory states in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) and antiferroelectric (AFE) LiCoPO${}_4$, based on the strong absorption difference of THz radiation between its two types of ME domains. This unusual contrast is attributed to the dynamic ME effect of the spin-wave excitations, as confirmed by our microscopic model, which also captures the characteristics of the observed static ME effect. Our proof-of-principle study, demonstrating the control and the optical readout of ME domains in LiCoPO${}_4$, lays down the foundation for future ME memory devices based on antiferroelectric-antiferromagnetic insulators.

arXiv comment6 pages, 4 figures + Supplementary (10 pages and 4 figures)

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• Spin Dynamics in the Magnetoelectric Effect LiCoPO${}_4$ Compound
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• Zero and finite temperature mean field study of magnetic field induced electric polarization in Ba2CoGe2O7
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Cited by in corpus (17)

• Unusual magnetoelectric effect in paramagnetic rare-earth langasite
• Switching of antiferromagnetic states in LiCoPO${}_4$ as investigated via the magnetoelectric effect
• Magnetic and vibronic THz excitations in Zn doped Fe${}_2$Mo${}_3$O${}_8$
• Spin excitations of magnetoelectric LiNiPO${}_4$ in multiple magnetic phases
• Directional dichroism in the paramagnetic state of multiferroics: a case study of infrared light absorption in Sr2CoSi2O7 at high temperatures
• Microwave directional dichroism resonant with spin excitations in the polar ferromagnet GaV${}_4$S${}_8$
• Imaging antiferromagnetic domains in LiCoPO${}_4$ via the optical magnetoelectric effect
• Magnetoelectric spectroscopy of spin excitations in LiCoPO4
• Magnetic parity violation and parity-time-reversal-symmetric magnets
• Antipolar transitions in GaNb${}_4$Se${}_8$ and GaTa${}_4$Se${}_8$
• Exceptional field dependence of antiferromagnetic magnons in LiFePO${}_4$
• Selection rules and dynamic magnetoelectric effect of the spin waves in multiferroic BiFeO${}_3$
• Aspects of wave propagation in a nonlinear medium: birefringence and the second-order magnetoelectric coefficients
• In-situ electric field control of THz non-reciprocal directional dichroism in the multiferroic Ba${}_2$CoGe${}_2$O${}_7$
• Optical magnetoelectric effect in the polar honeycomb antiferromagnet Fe2Mo3O8
• Reversing Neel Vector in PT-Antiferromagnets by Nonreciprocal Light Scattering
• Curvilinear spin-wave dynamics beyond the thin-shell approximation: Magnetic nanotubes as a case study