Multi-ferroic and magnetoelectric materials and interfaces

The existence of multiple ferroic orders in the same material and the coupling between them have been known for decades. However, these phenomena have mostly remained the theoretical domain owing to the fact that in single-phase materials such couplings are rare and weak. This situation has changed dramatically recently for at least two reasons: first, advances in materials fabrication have made it possible to manufacture these materials in structures of lower dimensionality, such as thin films or wires, or in compound structures such as laminates and epitaxial-layered heterostructures. In these designed materials, new degrees of freedom are accessible in which the coupling between ferroic orders can be greatly enhanced. Second, the miniaturization trend in conventional electronics is approaching the limits beyond which the reduction of the electronic element is becoming more and more difficult. One way to continue the current trends in computer power and storage increase, without further size reduction, is to use multi-functional materials that would enable new device capabilities. Here, we review the field of multi-ferroic (MF) and magnetoelectric (ME) materials, putting the emphasis on electronic effects at ME interfaces and MF tunnel junctions.