Magnetoelectric hysteresis of a bilayered magnetoelectric composite

A bilayered magnetoelectric composite has been fabricated by bonding a magnetostrictive layer Terfenol-D and a piezoelectric layer Pb(Zr_0·52Ti_0·48)O₃ together. The magnetoelectric hysteresis behavior of the magnetoelectric composite has been investigated. The results show that the magnetoelectric voltage coefficients of the composite are strongly affected by the bias magnetic field and test period. The magnetoelectric voltage coefficients with the bias magnetic field exhibit hysteresis over a test period, forming hysteresis loops with an anticlockwise direction sweep. The test time hysteresis caused by a fast varying bias magnetic field can be reduced by prolonging the test period. The observed coercive field, remanence and ratio of the remanence of the magnetoelectric hysteresis loops with the test period obey an exponential decay law. In addition, the bias magnetic field dependence of magnetoelectric hysteresis loops is found to be associated with magnetic hysteresis loops. These findings provide some ideas not only for practical applications, but also for the magnetoelectric effect examinations of magnetoelectric composites.