Integrated magnetoelectrics: a path toward novel electronics with ultra-low SWaP-C

Abstract

The coexistence of electric polarization and magnetization in multiferroic materials provides great opportunities for realizing magnetoelectric coupling, including electric field control of magnetism, or vice versa, through a strain mediated magnetoelectric coupling in layered magnetic/ferroelectric multiferroic heterostructures. Strong magnetoelectric coupling has been the enabling factor for different multiferroic devices, which, however, has been elusive, particularly at RF/microwave frequencies. In this presentation, I will cover the most recent progress on new integrated RF magnetoelectric materials and devices. Specifically, we will introduce magnetoelectric multiferroic materials and their applications in different devices, including voltage tunable RF magnetic components, ultracompact magnetoelectric mechanical antennas immune from ground plane effect with < λ0/100 in size, self-biased operation, excellent impedance matching and ground plane immunity, etc. These magnetoelectric antennas are also smart antennas with picoTesla magnetic field sensitivity, and with orders of magnitude improved figure of merit for wireless power, transfer compared to state-of-the-art technologies. These novel magnetoelectric materials and antennas show great promise for applications in compact, lightweight and power-efficient sensors, antennas and tunable components for radars, communication systems, biomedical devices, IoT, etc.