Low voltage control of exchange coupling in a ferromagnet-semiconductor quantum well hybrid structure.

Voltage control of ferromagnetism on the nanometer scale is highly appealing for the development of novel electronic devices with low power consumption, high operation speed, reliable reversibility and compatibility with semiconductor technology. Hybrid structures based on the assembly of ferromagnetic and semiconducting building blocks are expected to show magnetic order as a ferromagnet and to be electrically tunable as a semiconductor. Here, we demonstrate the electrical control of the exchange coupling in a hybrid consisting of a ferromagnetic Co layer and a semiconductor CdTe quantum well, separated by a thin non-magnetic (Cd,Mg)Te barrier.