Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

Volume 344, 1 September 2022, 113737

Magnetoelectric coil-free voltage transformer based on

monolithic ferrite-piezoelectric heterostructure
Y.K. Fetisov , D.V. Chashin

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Abstract

Low-power voltage transformers using magnetoelectric (ME) effect in ferromagnetic-piezoelectric heterostructures

occupy an intermediate position between electromagnetic and piezoelectric transformers. They have low input and
high output impedance, their transformation ratio is controlled by magnetic field. The paper describes design and
manufacturing technology of monolithic ME transformers based on the nickel-zinc ferrite - lead zirconate-titanate
structure. A prototype of the transformer is fabricated, in which a bulk electromagnetic coil in the input circuit is
replaced with a planar electrode, deposited directly on the ferrite layer. This results in simplification of the design
and reduction in the size of the transformer. At operating frequency of 70 kHz, the input impedance of the
transformer is 0.1 Ω, the output impedance depends on the direction of the piezoelectric polarization and is 6–
300 kΩ, the transformation ratio is tuned in the range 0–43 by magnetic field up to 60 Oe. The coil-free
magnetoelectric transformers are promising to match circuits with very different impedances.

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Magnetoelectric voltage transformer based on ferrite-piezoelectric heterostructure.

Introduction

Low-power transformers are widely used in electronics and measuring technology to change the voltage amplitude
and match circuits. The most widespread at present are electromagnetic (EM) transformers using the phenomenon
of electromagnetic induction, and piezoelectric (PE) transformers. The EM transformer [1] contains a core made of
ferromagnetic material, on which the input and output electromagnetic coils are wound. EM transformers have
fairly low input and output impedances. The PE transformer [2] is a plate (or a set of plates) made of piezoelectric
material and containing parts with different electrical polarization, in which acoustic resonance is excited. PE
transformers usually have high input and output impedances.

Recently, new type transformers have been proposed [3], [4] that use the magnetoelectric (ME) effect in
heterostructures containing mechanically coupled ferromagnetic (FM) and piezoelectric (PE) layers [5]. In such
transformers, the input voltage is applied to an electromagnetic coil, which, due to magnetostriction, excites
deformations in the FM layer at acoustic resonance frequency of the structure, this deformation is transferred to the
PE layer and, due to the piezoelectric effect, it generates an output voltage. ME transformers occupy an intermediate
position between EM and PE transformers. They posses low input and high output impedance, their transformation
ratio can be adjusted by an external magnetic field. This makes low-power ME transformers promising for matching
electrical circuits with very different resistance. Some designs of ME voltage transformers are described in detail in
[3], [4], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]. Note that all the proposed transformers used bulk electromagnetic
coils.

At present, an urgent task is to create planar ME transformers by getting rid of bulk electromagnetic coils, which
make it possible to widely use modern planar technologies for manufacturing low-power transformers, reduce their
size and power consumption. The way to solve this problem was outlined in [15], [16]. It was shown that, in order to
excite the ME effect in composite structures, instead of a bulk coil, one can use a thin-film electrode with an
alternating current flowing through it, located near the FM layer of the structure or deposited directly on the FM
layer.

The purpose of this work was to develop a manufacturing technology for planar coil-free ME transformers, fabricate
a prototype of the device, demonstrate its performance, and measure its main characteristics. The first part of the
paper describes design of the monolithic ME transformer, the second part presents its measured characteristics, and
the final part discusses the results obtained.

Section snippets

Design and fabrication technology of ME transformer

A schematic view and appearance of the transformer are shown in Fig. 1. The transformer contains a ferrite layer
and a piezoelectric layer. The nickel-zinc ferrite Ni0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 (NZFO) plate had dimensions of 28.7 mm × 14.3 mm,
thickness am= 2.5 mm, saturation magnetostriction λS= 30∙10─6 in saturation field HS ≈ 500 Oe, magnetomechanical
coupling coefficient km = 0.2, and Curie temperature TC = 500 °C [17]. An Ag-electrode, ~10 µm thick, with a gap of
1 mm along the wide side was deposited…

Characteristics of ME transformer
Fig. 2 shows for both transformers the dependences of the output voltage U2 on the frequency at input voltage U1 =
32 mV, load RL= 400 kOm and field H= 70 Oe. The voltage peak near 70 kHz occurs due to excitation of the main
vibration mode of the structure, which leads to a resonant increase in deformations and ME voltage [19]. For the T-
transformer, the resonant frequency was fT = 70.02 kHz, quality factor QT = 184, and amplitude U2 = 0.53 V, while for
the L-transformer, fL= 70.04 kHz, QL= 236 …

Discussion of the results

First of all, let's estimate the resonance frequency of the transformers (Fig. 2) using the formula for the frequency of
longitudinal vibrations of a free rod [20], where b is the length of the structure. The effective
Young's modulus Y and effective density ρ are found as and , where Yk, ρk, and
ak are Young's modulus, density and thickness of the structure layers, respectively. The contribution of the
electrodes and glue layers is disregarded due to their…

Conclusion

Thus, the low-power magnetoelectric coil-free voltage transformer based on a monolithic ferrite-piezoelectric
heterostructure is fabricated and investigated. The use of a planar electrode in the input circuit of the transformer,
instead of a bulk coil, resulted in a simplification in the design and reduction in the dimensions of the transformer.
The transformer posses a low input impedance and high output impedance, which can be controlled by choosing
direction of the piezoelectric layer…

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yuri Fetisov: Conceptualization, Project administration, Writing – review & editing. Dmitri Chashin: Investigation,
Methodology, Validation, Measurements.…

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could
have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.…

Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant No 19-79-10128-P. The work was carried out
using equipment of the CCU MIREA supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian
Federation under the Agreement No 075–15-2021–689.…

Yuri K. Fetisov received the Ph.D. degree in solid state physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and
the Dr. Sci. degree in physics of dielectrics and semiconductors from the Institute of Radio Engineering and
Electronics, Russian Academy of Science, Moscow, in 1981 and 1993, respectively. He joined the Moscow Institute of
Radio Engineering, Electronics and Automation (MIREA) in 1983, where he worked as a researcher, Professor of
Physics Department since 1994, Director of the…

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Yuri K. Fetisov received the Ph.D. degree in solid state physics from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute and the Dr.
Sci. degree in physics of dielectrics and semiconductors from the Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Russian
Academy of Science, Moscow, in 1981 and 1993, respectively. He joined the Moscow Institute of Radio Engineering,
Electronics and Automation (MIREA) in 1983, where he worked as a researcher, Professor of Physics Department since 1994,
Director of the Institute for Informatics since 1998, and Dean of the Faculty of Electronics since 2007. He is currently a
Director of the Research-Educational Center “Magnetoelectric Materials and Devices” of the Russian Technological University
(former MIREA). His scientific interests are in the field of spin waves in thin magnetic films and heterostructures, linear and
nonlinear magnetoelectric effects in multiferroic materials and ferromagnet-piezoelectric heterostructures and its
applications in micro system engineering and electronics. He is the co-author of more than 200 papers in peer-review
international journals, 12 patents and several monographs.

Dmitri V. Chashin received the M.S. degree in automation and remote control from the Moscow Institute of Radio
Engineering, Electronics and Automation (MIREA) in 1974. Since 1975, he has been at MIREA where he designed the
submillimeter-wave laser emitters and receivers. At present he is a Leading Engineer of the Research-Educational Center
“Magnetoelectric Materials and Devices” at the Russian Technological University (former MIREA). His research interests
include development of high-sensitivity magnetoelectric magnetic field sensors and various magnetoelectric devices for
micro system engineering and electronics. He is a co-author of more than 70 papers in peer-review journals, 15 patents, and
presentations at international conferences.

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