Multiferroic materials are a promising platform to obtain a novel spintronic technology. In particular, multiferroics with a strong magnetoelectric coupling allow to control magnetic bits with electric fields instead of electric currents. This has the potential to provide a much more efficient way to manage the energy involved in the functioning of our electronic devices. However, a material fitting the requirements for applications has remained elusive. In this project, new mechanisms for multiferroicity and magnetoelectric coupling will be designed using layered van der Waals materials. The layered structure of this class of materials offers new degrees of freedom to engineer a multiferroic. Taking them in to account, I will analyze novel types of multiferroics that are only possible in the family of layered van der Waals materials. Therefore, paving the way to obtain a new family of multiferroic compounds that could be used in future technological applications.

2022

2025