Polarization-induced magnetoelectric effect in Fe₃Ga/HfO₂/Fe₃Ga heterojunction

Abstract

Fe3Ga/HfO2/Fe3Ga heterojunction possesses reasonable lattice mismatch and good ferroelectric at the nanoscale. However, its magnetoelectric coupling is unexplored. Based on the first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that the magnetoelectric coupling in Fe3Ga/HfO2/Fe3Ga heterojunction is induced by polarization, which is different from the common strain-mediated magnetoelectric effect. The polarization-induced magnetoelectric effect of heterojunction is explained by the analyses of orbital-resolved density of states and spin densities, finding that the interfaces between Fe3Ga and HfO2 play an important role in magnetoelectric coupling, offering an alternative pathway for generating magnetoelectric coupling at room temperature.