Microstructural, electrical and magnetic properties of multiferroic CoFe2O4/0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 nanocomposite thin films

Bilayered CoFe2O4/0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 nanocomposite films are successfully prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate via simple sol–gel process. X-ray diffraction result reveals that there exists no chemical reaction or phase diffusion between the CoFe2O4 and 0.68Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–0.32PbTiO3 phases. The microstructure is characterized by scanning/transmission electron microscopy (STEM). The composite thin films exhibit both strong ferroelectric and ferromagnetic responses at room temperature. The maximal magnetoelectric coupling coefficient of the nanocomposite films reaches up to 25 mV/cm Oe, occurs at a lower bias magnetic field (Hdc) of 550 Oe.