Influence of Ga-concentration on the electrical and magnetic properties of magnetoelectric CoGaxFe2−xO4/BaTiO3 composite

Multiferroic materials exhibit magnetoelectric (ME) coupling and promise new device applications including magnetic sensors, generators, and filters. An effective method for developing ME materials with enhanced ME effect is achieved by the coupling through the interfacial strain between piezoelectric and magnetostrictive materials. In this study, the electrical and magnetic properties of Ga doped magnetoelectric CoGaxFe2−xO4/BaTiO3 composite are studied systematically. It is found that Ga doping improves the sensitivity of magnetoelastic response and stabilizes the magnetic phase of the composites. More importantly, Ga doping reduces the electrical conductivity of composite, as well as the dielectric loss. An enhancement of the electrostrain with doping Ga is also observed. Quantitative estimation indicates that magnetoelectric coupling is enhanced for Ga-doped CoGaxFe2−xO4/BaTiO3 composites. Thus, the present work is beneficial to the practical application of composite CoFe2O4/BaTiO3-based multiferroic materials.