| Summary: | Electric-field control of magnetism is significant for the next generation of large-capacity and low-power data storage technology. In this regard, the renaissance of a multiferroic compound provides an elegant platform owing to the coexistence and coupling of ferroelectric (FE) and magnetic orders. However, the scarcity of single-phase multiferroics at room temperature spurs zealous research in pursuit of composite systems combining a ferromagnet with FE or piezoelectric materials. So far, electric-field control of magnetism has been achieved in the exchange-mediated, charge-mediated, and strain-mediated ferromagnetic (FM)/FE multiferroic heterostructures. Concerning the giant, nonvolatile, and reversible electric-field control of magnetism at room temperature, we first review the theoretical and representative experiments on the electric-field control of magnetism via strain coupling in the FM/FE multiferroic heterostructures, especially the CoFeB/PMN–PT [where PMN–PT denotes the (PbMn<sub>1/3</sub>Nb<sub>2/3</sub>O<sub>3</sub>)<sub>1−x</sub>-(PbTiO<sub>3</sub>)<sub>x</sub>] heterostructure. Then, the application in the prototype spintronic devices, i.e., spin valves and magnetic tunnel junctions, is introduced. The nonvolatile and reversible electric-field control of tunneling magnetoresistance without assistant magnetic field in the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ)/FE architecture shows great promise for the future of data storage technology. We close by providing the main challenges of this and the different perspectives for straintronics and spintronics.
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