The switching of bipolar and unipolar magnetostriction in polycrystalline ZnO film

Abstract

We report the investigation of magnetostrictive property of polycrystalline ZnO film at room temperature on rotating a magnetic field in the plane of the film from 0 deg to 90 deg by an indigenously developed optical cantilever beam magnetometer (CBM) setup. In this study, the film exhibits bipolar (tensile & compressive) and unipolar (tensile/compressive) nature of magnetostriction with the angle of rotation of in-plane magnetic field. Moreover, we observe switching behavior of bipolar and unipolar magnetostriction as the applied field is rotated in the plane of the film. The switching of magnetostriction is attributed to the crystal anisotropy of the material. The appearance of bipolar and unipolar magnetostriction has made the ZnO film a suitable candidate for the fabrication of sensors as well as actuators applicable in micro and nano-electronic devices.