Giant magnetoelectricity in soft materials using hard magnetic soft materials

Imagine a material that will produce electricity via a contactless, wireless signal. Further, we hope that this material is capable of large deformation reminiscent of soft robots and is soft enough to conform to irregular or curved geometries. This would all be possible if soft magnetoelectric materials were available; paving the way for applications such as remote drug delivery, energy harvesting, soft robots, multiple state memories among others. Here, for the first time, using the concept of hard magnetic soft matter in combination with electrets, we design and create a soft magnetoelectric material that exhibits an extremely strong, self-biased magnetoelectric effect. Further, using programmable pattern of deposition of magnetic dipoles and charges, we report a giant magnetoelectric coefficient in an ultra-soft deformable material that retains its strength even under infinitesimal external fields and at low frequencies.