UC Riverside

In this thesis, we look at controlling the magnetic properties at the nano-scale in single crystal thin film through structural modifications and external static electric fields (i.e. magnetoelectric effects). The first part of the thesis focuses on changing the magnetic properties in thin films through sample structure modifications. The other half focuses on using static electric fields to tune the magnetic properties within magnetic thin films. We show that the magnetic anisotropy can be changes through the application of static electric fields. Most interestingly though, we find that the phase transition in magnetite can be tuned with electric fields leading to an enhanced magentoelectric effect.