Enhancement in the field sensitivity of magnetoelectric laminate heterostructures

The effect of magnetostrictive layer thickness on the magnetoelectric (ME) response and field sensitivity of Pb(Zr,Ti)O(3)-metglas based sandwiched ME heterostructures has been studied. Such structures hold promise for sensor applications. The increase in metglas thickness results in a significant increase in the ME response and magnetic field sensitivity. The ME coefficient and field sensitivity increase by about 1.5-1.75 and 2.7 times, respectively, for a structure with 150 mu m thick six metglas layers on both sides of the Pb(Zr, Ti)O(3), in comparison to a 50 mu m thick two layered structure. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3222914]