Directed Self-Assembly of Epitaxial CoFe2O4–BiFeO3 Multiferroic Nanocomposites

CoFe2O4 (CFO)–BiFeO3 (BFO) nanocomposites are an intriguing option for future memory and logic technologies due to the magnetoelectric properties of the system. However, these nanocomposites form with CFO pillars randomly located within a BFO matrix, making implementation in devices difficult. To overcome this, we present a technique to produce patterned nanocomposites through self-assembly. CFO islands are patterned on Nb-doped SrTiO3 to direct the self-assembly of epitaxial CFO–BFO nanocomposites, producing square arrays of CFO pillars.