Piezomagnetism

Piezomagnetism is a phenomenon observed in some antiferromagnetic and ferrimagnetic crystals. It is characterized by a linear coupling between the system's magnetic polarization and mechanical strain. In a piezomagnetic material, one may induce a spontaneous magnetic moment by applying mechanical stress, or a physical deformation by applying a magnetic field.

Piezomagnetism differs from the related property of magnetostriction; if an applied magnetic field is reversed in direction, the strain produced changes signs. Additionally, a non-zero piezomagnetic moment can be produced by mechanical strain alone, at zero fields, which is not true of magnetostriction. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): "Piezomagnetism is the linear magneto-mechanical effect analogous to the linear electromechanical effect of piezoelectricity. Similarly, magnetostriction and electrostriction are analogous second-order effects. These higher-order effects can be represented as effectively first-order when variations in the system parameters are small compared with the initial values of the parameters".