Strain-gradient effects in nanoscale-engineered magnetoelectric materials

Understanding strain gradient phenomena is of paramount importance in diverse areas condensed matter physics. This effect responsible for flexoelectricity dielectric materials, and it plays a crucial role the mechanical behavior nanoscale-sized specimens. In magnetoelectric composites, which comprise piezoelectric or ferroelectric (FE) materials coupled to magnetostrictive (MS) phases, can add any uniform that present boost strength coupling. Hence, could be advantageous develop new types functionally graded multiferroic composites (for information technologies) magnetic-field-driven flexoelectric/magnetostrictive platforms wireless neurons/muscle cell stimulation (in biomedicine). MS FE with non-fully constrained geometries (e.g., cantilevers, porous layers, vertically aligned patterned films), gradients generated by applying magnetic field (to phases) an electric (to, e.g., phases). While operating using strains have been extensively investigated past, examples nanoengineering strategies achieve strain-gradient-mediated effects ultimately lead high flexomagnetoelectric are discussed this Perspective.