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A Magnetization Sensitive Potential at Garnet-Metal Interfaces

We investigate a magnetization-dependent voltage that appears at the interface between garnets and various metals. The voltage is even in the applied magnetic field and is dependent on the surface roughness and the pressure holding the surfaces together. Large variations in the size, sign and magnetic dependence are observed between different metal surfaces. Some patterns have been identified in the measured voltages and a simple model is described that can accommodate the gross features. The bulk magnetoelectric response of one of our polycrystalline YIG samples is measured and is found to be consistent with a term in the free energy that is quadratic in both the electric and magnetic fields. However, the presence of such a term does not fully explain the complex magnetization dependence of the measured voltages.