A concept for a magnetic field detector underpinned by the nonlinear dynamics of coupled multiferroic devices

Multiferroic (MF) composites, in which magnetic and ferroelectric orders coexist, represent a very attractive class of materials with promising applications in areas, such as spintronics, memories, and sensors. One of the most important multiferroics is the perovskite phase of bismuth ferrite, which exhibits weak magnetoelectric properties at room temperature; its properties can be enhanced by doping with other elements such as dysprosium. A recent paper has demonstrated that a thin film of Bi0.7Dy0.3FeO3 shows good magnetoelectric coupling. In separate work it has been shown that a carefully crafted ring connection of N (N odd and N >= 3) ferroelectric capacitors yields, past a critical point, nonlinear oscillations that can be exploited for electric (E) field sensing. These two results represent the starting point of our work. In this paper the (electrical) hysteresis, experimentally measured in the MF material Bi0.7Dy0.3FeO3, is characterized with the applied magnetic field (B) taken as a control parameter. This yields a "blueprint" for a magnetic (B) field sensor: a ring-oscillator coupling of N = 3 Sawyer-Tower circuits each underpinned by a mutliferroic element. In this configuration, the changes induced in the ferroelectric behavior by the external or "target" B-field are quantified, thus providing a pathway for very low power and high sensitivity B-field sensing. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.