Resonance magnetoelectric couplings of piezoelectric ceramic and ferromagnetic constant-elasticity alloy composites with different layer structures

The piezoelectric ceramic (PZT) and ferromagnetic constant-elasticity alloy (FeNi-FACE) laminated composites with different layer structures are prepared and the magnetoelectric (ME) properties are investigated. The results show that the resonance ME voltage coefficient increases and the optimum dc magnetic field bias (Hdc,opti) moves steadily toward a higher value with the increased number of layers. The maximum value of resonance ME voltage coefficient for seven-layer structure of PZT/FeNi-FACE composite achieves 7.214 V/Oe, which is about 4.57 times higher than that for bilayer composite, 2.4 times higher than that for trilayer composite, and 1.18 times higher than that for five-layer composite. In addition, the resonance frequency increases nearly linearly with the number of layers. Theoretical estimate of the ME voltage coefficient and resonance frequency follows the tendency showed by the experimental data. This study plays a guiding role for ME composites design in real applications.

► The magnetoelectic (ME) composites with different layer structures are investigated.
► The resonance ME voltage coefficient increases with the increase of the layers.
► The maximum value of ME voltage coefficient for seven-layer structure reaches 7.214 V/Oe.
► The resonance frequency of ME composites increases nearly linearly with the number of layers.