First principles prediction of interfacial magnetoelectric coupling in tetragonal La2/3Sr1/3MnO3/BiFeO3 multiferroic superlattices

Abstract

The electronic structure and magnetic properties of the tetragonal La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃/BiFeO₃ multiferroic superlattices with different interfacial terminations have been studied by first-principles calculations. Our results for all the models of the tetragonal La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃/BiFeO₃ superlattices exhibit a metallic electronic structure. More importantly, we find that the magnetoelectric coupling can be realized in the tetragonal La_2/3Sr_1/3MnO₃/BiFeO₃ heterostructures by means of exchange bias, which can be attributed to the interfacial exchange coupling. These findings are useful for magnetoelectrically controlled spintronic devices.