  Magnetoelectric composites are an important class of multiferroic materials
that pave the way towards a new generation of multifunctional devices directly
integrable in data storage technology and spintronics. This study focuses on
strain-mediated electrical manipulation of magnetization in an extrinsic
multiferroic. The composite includes 5 nm or 60 nm Fe$_{81}$Ga$_{19}$ thin
films coupled to a piezoelectric (011)-PMN-PZT. The magnetization reversal
study reveals a converse magnetoelectric coefficient $\alpha_\mathrm{CME,max}
\approx 2.7 \times {10^{-6}}$ s.m$^{-1}$ at room temperature. This reported
value of $\alpha_\mathrm{CME}$ is among the highest so far compared to previous
reports of single-phase multiferroics as well as composites. An angular
dependency of $\alpha_\mathrm{CME}$ is also shown for the first time, arising
from the intrinsic magnetic anisotropy of FeGa. The highly efficient
magnetoelectric composite FeGa/PMN-PZT demonstrates drastic modifications of
the in-plane magnetic anisotropy, with an almost 90$^{\circ}$ rotation of the
preferential anisotropy axis in the thinner films under an electric field E =
10.8 kV.cm$^{-1}$. Also, the influence of thermal strain on the bilayer's
magnetic coercivity is compared to that of a reference bilayer FeGa/Glass at
cryogenic temperatures. A different evolution is observed as a function of
temperature, revealing a substrate thermo-mechanical influence which has not
yet been reported in FeGa thin films coupled to a piezoelectric material.
