Abstract
Magneto-electric (ME) elements were constructed by combining piezoelectric materials and magnetostrictive films. The fundamental properties of elements were studied, to determine whether the elements exhibit any considerable ME effect at room temperature. The elements had a hybrid structure, in which thin soft glass substrates with highly magnetostrictive amorphous FeCoSiB films were bonded on PZT piezoelectric substrates. When a dc voltage was applied to an element, large changes in the magnetic properties of the FeCoSiB film were observed: for example, when a dc voltage of between -200 V and +200 V was applied, the change in magnetic permeability of the film reached more than 1680%. These unique characteristics of the present ME elements are considered to be very attractive for constructing novel types of micromagnetic devices.
