Orientation-dependent multiferroic properties in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3–CoFe2O4 nanocomposite thin films derived by a sol-gel processing

Bilayered multiferroic nanocomposite films of preferentially oriented Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) and CoFe2O4 (CFO) were prepared on general Pt∕Ti∕SiO2∕Si substrate via a simple solution processing. Different annealing processings resulted in different preferential orientations for the PZT layers in the bilayered thin films, on which the dependence of properties, including ferroelectric, ferromagnetic, and magnetoelectric properties, in the PZT-CFO nanocomposite thin films was investigated. Strong ferroelectric and ferromagnetic responses and, in particular, direct magnetoelectric coupling effect were simultaneously observed in these bilayered thin films at room temperature.