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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Magnetoelectric coupling at metal surfaces
L Gerhard1, T K Yamada, T Balashov
1Physikalisches Institut, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT), Wolfgang-Gaede-Strasse 1, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Abstract:
Magnetoelectric coupling allows the magnetic state of a material to be changed by an applied electric field. To date, this phenomenon has mainly been observed in insulating materials such as complex multiferroic oxides. Bulk metallic systems do not exhibit magnetoelectric coupling, because applied electric fields are screened by conduction electrons. We demonstrate strong magnetoelectric coupling at the surface of thin iron films using the electric field from a scanning tunnelling microscope, and are able to write, store and read information to areas with sides of a few nanometres. Our work demonstrates that high-density, non-volatile information storage is possible in metals.
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