Effect of Strain and Doping on the Magnetoelectric Coupling at LSMO/PZT Multiferroic Interfaces: An Ab Initio Study

The magnetic properties of multiferroic materials can be controlled by the applied
electric field. We apply ab initio methods based on density functional theory (DFT) to
study the influence of strain on the magnetoelectric coupling at the (0,0,1) interface between
PZT (PbZr_0.2Ti_0.8O₃) and LSMO at two different doping levels
(La_0.5Sr_0.5MnO₃ and La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃). The effects of strain are
modeled by applying a ±1%, uniaxial strain in the direction orthogonal to the LSMO/PZT
interface. Our calculations show that the magnetic properties of the LSMO layer are strongly
influenced by both the doping concentration and the applied uniaxial strain. The results of our
study are consistent with the available experimental data.