Recent development of E-field control of interfacial magnetism in multiferroic heterostructures

The full E-field control of multiferroic interfacial magnetism is a long-standing challenge for micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and has the potential to transform electronics operation mechanisms. When scaling down conventional complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices, increased heating dissipation becomes a top concern. Combining the highly correlated ferroic orders, notably the strongly coupled interfacial magnetoelectric (ME) interactions, may lead to devices beyond CMOS. These devices use the electric field to regulate magnetization, which opens up the prospect of downsizing, improved performance, and lower power consumption. To broadly survey this tremendous scope within the last five years, this review summarizes advances in voltage control of interfacial magnetism (VCIM) with various material system selection; controlling effects with different gating methods are also explored. Five classic mechanisms are demonstrated: strain, exchange bias, orbital reconstruction, and the electrostatic and electrochemical. The encouraging photovoltaic approach is also discussed. Each method’s capabilities and application scenarios are compared. Analyses of the comprehensive gating results of different magnetic coupling effects such as perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and Ruderman–Kittel–Kasuya–Yosida (RKKY) are additionally made. At last, controlling of skyrmions and two-dimensional (2D) material magnetization is summarized, indicating that E-field gating offers a universal approach with few limitations for material selection. These results point to potential for E-field control interfacial magnetism and predict significant future advancements for spintronics.