A Robust High-temperature Multiferroic Device with Tunable Topological Hall Effect

Abstract: We fabricated Pt/La0.5Ba0.5MnO3 ultrathin films with integration to the PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 ferroelectric. Strong Topological Hall Effect can be measured across a wide temperature range, which can be turned on and off corresponding to the ferroelectric polarization switching driven by short voltage pulses, indicating creation and annihilation of magnetic Skyrmions. However, its magnetoelectric coupling polarity was found to be opposite to the earlier consensus, which involves a phase transition between ferromagnetic and A-type antiferromagnetic in manganites due to electrostatic doping into the eg-orbitals by the ferroelectric bound charges. In our case, we propose a novel yet complementary picture where the transition occurs between C-type antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic. The distinction between the earlier consensus and our picture lies at the tetragonal distortion of the manganite unit cell, resulting in an opposite magnetoelectric coupling polarity. We support the perceived relationship between the phase transition and tuning of Topological Hall Effect by micromagnetic simulations.