The first material where an intrinsic linear magnetoelectric effect was predicted theoretically and confirmed experimentally was Cr 2 O 3. This is a single-phase material. Multiferroics are another example of single-phase materials that can exhibit a general magnetoelectric effect if their magnetic and electric orders are coupled. Composite materials are another way to realize magnetoelectrics. There, the idea is to combine, say a magnetostrictive and a piezoelectric material. These two materials interact by strain, leading to a coupling between magnetic and electric properties of the compound material.