Prospects for nanostructured multiferroic composite materials

Magnetoelectric multiferroic materials have the potential to transform a range of applications, including tunable microelectronics and multiphase memories. However, the coexistence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity in single-phase materials is quite rare, driving the development of composite multiferroic materials. In these composites, the coupling arises from strain transfer across a shared interface between the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic phase. This viewpoint article highlights recent work as well as future challenges in the synthesis and characterization of nanostructured multiferroic materials.