Effect of Oxygen Plasma on Magnetoelectric Properties of NiFe2O4/PVDF Composites

Abstract

Flexible multiferroic composite with enhanced dielectric property is a potential candidate for future memory devices. Here, 0–3 type of artificial multiferroic was developed to enhance the dielectric property of the multiferroic composite. As the loading of the magnetic nanoparticles in the PVDF matrix increases from 10 wt% to 40 wt% the electroactive phase of the composite increases probed by dielectric measurement. The increase in the loading of magnetic nanoparticles inside the PVDF matrix from 10 to 40 wt% also control the dielectric losses of the samples. The vibrating sample magnetometer measurement was performed for the composite films with varying composition and found that the magnetic moment is increased linearly with the loading of magnetic nanoparticles. Our 0–3 type multiferroic composite device is nonvolatile in nature which can form the basis for future nonvolatile magnetic memory devices. To further improve the dielectric and magnetoelectric property of the multiferroic composite samples, different wt % of NiFe2O4 NPs was exposed by dense plasma focus device in the oxygen environment. After oxygen plasma exposure the electrical and magnetic properties measurement performed using I-V and magnetoelectric measurement setup respectively. The enhancement in the magnetoelectric properties has been observed after the plasma treatment. Thus, it suggests that plasma modification could be a promising approach to enhance the magnetoelectric coupling for future magnetoelectric devices.