Voltage Controlled Anisotropy in Boron-doped Cr₂O₃ thin films

Voltage controlled magnetization is a promising route for next-generation low-energy magnetic recording and logic devices. Utilizing magnetoelectric chromia (Cr₂O₃) based heterostructures, electric control of ferromagnetic exchange bias has been achieved up to the bulk Néel temperature of 307 K. Recently, it has been shown the Néel temperature of chromia can be increased to 400 K by boron doping. Moreover, boron doping could also introduce spin canting and enhance voltage controlled anisotropy which has been predicted in pure chromia, transforming B-doped chromia into a high-T_N multi-functional material. Here the spin flop transition of chromia is investigated and inferences about the crystal anisotropy are drawn. Utilizing low-temperature spin-flop magnetic measurements in B-doped chromia thin films, voltage controlled anisotropy is investigated for the first time in these films, with significant implications for future spintronic devices.