Steady or dynamic magnetoelectric response, selectable and adjustable by only varying the amplitude of the applied electric field, is found in a multiferroic FeRh/PMN-PT device. In-operando time-dependent structural, ferroelectric, and magnetoelectric characterizations provide evidence that, as in magnetic shape memory martensitic alloys, the observed distinctive magnetoelectric responses are related to the time-dependent relative abundance of antiferromagnetic-ferromagnetic phases in FeRh, unbalanced by voltage-controlled strain. This flexible magnetoelectric response can be exploited not only for energy-efficient memory operations but also in other applications, where multilevel and/or transient responses are required.
Keywords: magnetoelectric; martensitic alloy; multiferroic; piezoelectric; thin film.