Optically tunable and detectable magnetoelectric effects in the composite consisting of magnetic thin films and InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells.

An optically tunable and detectable magnetoeletric (ME) effect has been discovered in the composite consisting of InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells and magnetostrictive ferromagnetic Ni or FeCo thin films at room temperature. Due to the interactively optical and piezoelectric properties of nitride semiconductors, this composite provides an intriguing optically accessible system, in which the magnetoelectric effect can be both easily tuned and detected. The underlying mechanism can be well accounted for by the interplay among magnetostrictive, piezoelectric and optical transition. It thus offers a new paradigm to generate artificial material systems with magnetic/electric/optical inter-related/controllable properties.