Influence of mechanical boundary conditions and microstructural features on magnetoelectric behavior in a three-phase multiferroic particulate composite

We report theoretical calculations of the magnetoelectric properties in a three-phase multiferroic particulate composite of Terfenol-D, lead-zirconate-titanate (PZT), and polymer based on the Green's function technique. Our results show that the values of the magnetoelectric voltage coefficients are very sensitive to mechanical boundary conditions that the composite sample suffers, and that the polarization orientation in PZT particles and the inactive interface layer surrounding PZT particles have a significant effect on the magnetoelectric behavior of the composite. The calculations well describe the recent observations and provide a general guideline for experimentally achieving large ME response of such multiferroic composites.