Magnetoelectric properties of a heterostructure of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric composites

This paper presents a magnetoelectric (ME) heterostructure of a magnetostrictive Terfenol-D/epoxy 0-3 composite (MSCP) plate combined with a piezoelectric PZT/epoxy 0-3 composite (PECP) plate along the longitudinal direction. By keeping the dimensions of the MSCP at 6.8 mm × 6.2 mm × 0.7 mm, heterostructures with various PECP lengths of 8-15 mm are prepared and characterized to reveal their frequency dependence of the ME effect. The results exhibit several resonance peaks in the heterostructures due to the magnetomechanical resonances (MMR) of the MSCP and the electromechanical resonances (EMR) of the PECP. The superposition of the MMR and EMR enhances significantly the ME output of the heterostructures. The highest ME voltage coefficient (α_E) of 13.1 V/cm·Oe is observed at the resonance frequency of 106.8 kHz when the length ratio of the MSCP and PECP is set to 6.8/10.2, together with an optimal magnetic bias field of 0.7 kOe.