The magnetoelectric effect: Materials, physical aspects, and applications

A review is given of the magnetoelectric (ME) effect. Topics covered include thermodynamic formulation, magnetic symmetry and magnetoelectricity, experimental considerations and known ME materials, atomic mechanisms responsible for magnetoelectricity and the temperature dependence of the ME susceptibility, and present and potential applications in materials research and devices. It is pointed out that ME measurements can be useful in magnetic structure and Néel temperature determinations, studies of critical behavior, changes in magnetic symmetry induced by external fields, and studies of the motion of antiferromagnet domain walls. Among potential device applications of ME materials are a realization of the gyrator and read-only memories with subnanosecond retrival times.