Ultrahigh tunability of room temperature electronic transport and ferromagnetism in dilute magnetic semiconductor and PMN-PT single-crystal-based field effect transistors via electric charge mediation

Multiferroic heterostructures composed of complex oxide thin films and ferroelectric single crystals have aroused considerable interest due to the electrically switchable strain and charge elements of oxide films by the polarization reversal of ferroelectrics. Previous studies have demonstrated that the electric- field-control of physical properties of such heterostructures is exclusively due to the ferroelectric domain switching-induced lattice strain effects. Here, the first successful integration of the hexagonal ZnO:Mn dilute magnetic semiconductor thin films with high performance (111)-oriented perovskite Pb(Mg_1/3 Nb_2/3 )O₃ -PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT) single crystals is reported, and unprecedented charge-mediated electric-field control of both electronic transport and ferromagnetism at room temperature for PMN-PT single crystal-based oxide heterostructures is realized. A significant carrier concentration-tunability of resistance and magnetization by ≈400% and ≈257% is achieved at room temperature. The electric-field controlled bistable resistance and ferromagnetism switching at room temperature via interfacial electric charge presents a potential strategy for designing prototype devices for information storage. The results also disclose that the relative importance of the strain effect and interfacial charge effect in oxide film/ferroelectric crystal heterostructures can be tuned by appropriately adjusting the charge carrier density of oxide films.