Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 21, 2025

Measuring Magnetically-Tuned Ferroelectric Polarization in Liquid Crystals
Published on: August 15, 2018
Electric-field control of skyrmions in multiferroic heterostructure via magnetoelectric coupling
You Ba1,2, Shihao Zhuang3, Yike Zhang1,2
1Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Low-Dimensional Quantum Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China.
Abstract:
Room-temperature skyrmions in magnetic multilayers are considered to be promising candidates for the next-generation spintronic devices. Several approaches have been developed to control skyrmions, but they either cause significant heat dissipation or require ultrahigh electric fields near the breakdown threshold. Here, we demonstrate electric-field control of skyrmions through strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling in ferromagnetic/ferroelectric multiferroic heterostructures. We show the process of non-volatile creation of multiple skyrmions, reversible deformation and annihilation of a single skyrmion by performing magnetic force microscopy with in situ electric fields. Strain-induced changes in perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction strength are characterized experimentally. These experimental results, together with micromagnetic simulations, demonstrate that strain-mediated magnetoelectric coupling (via strain-induced changes in both the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and interfacial Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction is responsible for the observed electric-field control of skyrmions. Our work provides a platform to investigate electric-field control of skyrmions in multiferroic heterostructures and paves the way towards more energy-efficient skyrmion-based spintronics.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Magnetic Fields
A magnetic field is defined by the force that a charged particle experiences...
Ferromagnetism
Magnetic Field due to Moving Charges
Consider a point charge moving with a constant velocity. Like the electric field, the magnetic field at any point is directly proportional to the magnitude of the charge and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the source point and the field point. However, unlike the electric field, the magnetic field is always perpendicular to the plane containing the line...
Induced Electric Fields: Applications
Magnetic Field Due To A Thin Straight Wire
Magnetostatic Boundary Conditions

