Enhancement of Magnetoelectric Conversion Achieved by Optimization of Interfacial Adhesion Layer in Laminate Composites

We report the effect of epoxy adhesion layers with different mechanical or physical property on a magnetoelectric (ME) composite laminate composed of FeBSi alloy (Metglas)/single-crystal Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Zr,Ti)O3/Metglas to achieve an improved ME conversion performance. Through theoretical simulation, it was revealed that the Young’s modulus and the thickness of interfacial adhesives were major parameters that influence the conversion efficiency in ME composites. In the experimental evaluation, we utilized three epoxy materials with a distinct Young’s modulus and adjusted the average thickness of the adhesion layers to optimize the ME conversion. The experimental results show that a thin epoxy layer with a high Young’s modulus provided the best performance in the inorganic-based ME conversion process. By tailoring the interfacial adhesion property, the ME laminate generated a high conversion coefficient of 328.8 V/(cm Oe), with a mechanical quality factor of 132.0 at the resonance mode. Moreover, we demonstrated a highly sensitive alternating current magnetic field sensor that had a detection resolution below 10 pT. The optimization of the epoxy layers in the ME laminate composite provided significant enhancement of the ME response in a simple manner.