Direct and converse effect in magnetoelectric laminate composites

In this letter, we analyze the direct and converse effect in laminate composites of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric materials. Our results deterministically show that direct magnetoelectric (ME) effect is maximized at antiresonance frequency while the converse ME effect is maximized at resonance frequency of the laminate composite. We explain this phenomenon by using piezoelectric constitutive equations and combining it with resonance boundary conditions. The dominant factor controlling the position of peak ME coefficient was found to be frequency dependent capacitance of piezoelectric layer. This study will provide guidance toward the development of magnetic field sensors based on direct effect and communication components based on converse effect. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3584863]