We present here a concept of a memory cell called MELRAM based on a magnetic element with giant magnetostriction, embedded in a piezoelectric matrix. Two equilibrium orientations of magnetization are defined by combining uniaxial anisotropy together with a magnetic polarization in the hard axis direction. Using the piezoelectric matrix, an anisotropic stress is created onto the magnetic element when applying a voltage across electrodes. Thanks to the inverse magnetostrictive effect, the effective anisotropy of the magnetic element is controlled by the applied voltage and used to switch magnetization from one state to the other. Micromagnetic simulations show the effect of applied stress on magnetization and theoretical feasibility of the device. Retrieval of information can be nondestructively made by giant magnetoresistance reading. Details of the principle, simulations, and performance perspectives are discussed.

The possibility of control and tuning of the band structures of phononic crystals offered by the introduction of an active magnetoelastic material and the application of an external magnetic field is studied. Two means to obtain large elastic properties variations in magnetoelastic material are considered: Giant magnetostriction and spin reorientation transition effects. A plane wave expansion method is used to calculate the band structures. The magnetoelastic coupling is taken into account through the consideration of an equivalent piezomagnetic material model with elastic, piezomagnetic, and magnetic permeability tensors varying as a function of the amplitude and orientation of the applied magnetic field. Results of contactless tunability of the absolute bandgap are presented for a two-dimensional phononic crystal constituted of Terfenol-D square rod embedded in an epoxy matrix. V

Magnetic memory cells associated with the stress-mediated magnetoelectric effect promise extremely low bit-writing energies. Most investigations have focused on the process of writing information in memory cells, and very few on readout schemes. The usual assumption is that the readout will be achieved using magnetoresistive structures such as Giant Magneto-Resistive stacks or Magnetic Tunnel Junctions. Since the writing energy is very low in the magnetoelectric systems, the readout energy using magnetoresistive approaches becomes non negligible. Incidentally, the magneto-electric interaction itself contains the potentiality of the readout of the information encoded in the magnetic subsystem. In this letter, the principle of magnetoelectric readout of the information by an electric field in a composite multiferroic heterostructure is considered theoretically and demonstrated experimentally using [N×(TbCo2/FeCo)]/[Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3](1−x)−[PbTiO3]x stress-mediated ME heterostructures.

We present here the demonstration of magnetoelectric switching of magnetization between two stable positions defined by a combination of anisotropy and magnetic field. A magnetoelastic nanostructured multilayer with the required uni-axial characteristic was deposited onto a commercial piezoelectric actuator. Thanks to the inverse magnetostrictive effect, the effective anisotropy of the magnetic element is controlled by the applied voltage and used to switch magnetization from one state to the other. Both vibrating sample magnetometer and magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements have been performed and demonstrate the magnetoelectric switching.

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Magneto-electro-elastic and multiferroic materials can be combined in appealing nanostructures characterized by the coexistence and coupling of electric, magnetic, and mechanical phases with potential applications in novel multifunctional devices. Here, we derive a theory for nonvolatile room-temperature memory elements composed of magnetostrictive nanoparticles embedded in a piezoelectric matrix: two stable orthogonal magnetization states are obtained by the competition of anisotropy and external magnetic polarization. The innovative nontoggle switching between the states is modeled by a thorough combination of the nanomechanical Eshelby approach with the nanomagnetic Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert formalism, yielding a robust picture of the dynamical behavior and allowing the improvement of the energetic efficiency.

The motion of a ferromagnetic domain wall in nanodevices is usually induced by means of external magnetic fields or polarized currents. Here, we demonstrate the possibility to reversibly control the position of a N eel domain wall in a ferromagnetic nanostripe through a uniform mechanical stress. The latter is generated by an electro-active substrate combined with the nanostripe in a multiferroic heterostructure. We develop a model describing the magnetization distribution in the ferromagnetic material, properly taking into account the magnetoelectric coupling. Through its numerical implementation, we obtain the relationship between the electric field applied to the piezoelectric substrate and the position of the magnetic domain wall in the nanostripe. As an example, we analyze a structure composed of a PMN-PT substrate and a TbCo 2 /FeCo composite nanostripe.

Magnetic particles are largely utilized in several applications ranging from magnetorheological fluids to bioscience and from nanothechnology to memories or logic devices. The behavior of each single particle at finite temperature (under thermal stochastic fluctuations) plays a central role in determining the response of the whole physical system taken into consideration. Here, the magnetization evolution is studied through the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert formalism and the non-equilibrium statistical mechanics is introduced with the Langevin and Fokker-Planck methodologies. As result of the combination of such techniques we analyse the stochastic magnetization dynamics and we numerically determine the convergence time, measuring the velocity of attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium, as function of the system temperature.