UCLA

Recently the consumer electronics market has experienced a major demand for autonomous, networked devices which can collect and process information independently from the operator. These “smart” devices are the constituents of a larger computing paradigm known as the internet of things which seeks to combine environmental sensing, communication and computing technologies into an intelligent, all-in-one platform. Driven by advances in the reduction in the size and power consumption of computing technology, this expansion of the smart device market has created a need for new sensors which can be integrated onto compact and robust chip level systems. The success of these devices leverages the scaling of existing sensor technologies to improve the footprint and efficiency of the overall electronics package while maintaining compatibility with current manufacturing processes. This size reduction of current sensor technology often presents immense engineering challenges which stem from the undesirable scaling of the physical phenomena upon which the sensor operates. The scaling of electrically controllable magnetic field devices is one such category which demands an alternative approach at small length scales to achieve practical efficiencies. In this work an approach is taken to design small scale electrically controlled magnetic field sensors which sharply deviates from the traditional Oersted field devices typical of macroscale systems. Strain mediated multiferroic composites, which couple the intrinsic magnetic and electric degrees of freedom inside the material through mechanical strains, are explored in the context of antennas and static magnetic field sensors. An analysis of the radiation efficiency of a multiferroic antenna is presented and steps are taken to realize a practical experimental device. Two types of magnetometers are studied which use multiferroic composites to improve the sensitivities and measurement accessibility of such devices. The results of this work clearly demonstrate the significant advantages offered by strain mediated multiferroic materials for use in chip-scale sensor technologies which have significant potential to advance the capabilities of integrated “smart” electronic systems.