Enhancement of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in rare earth element doped BiFeO3

Authors

Zhenxiang Cheng, University of WollongongFollow
Xiaolin Wang, University of WollongongFollow
S X. Dou, University of WollongongFollow
Hideo Kimura, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan
Kiyoshi Ozawa, National Institute for Materials Science, JapanFollow

RIS ID

24917

Publication Details

Cheng, Z, Wang, X, Dou, SX, Kimura, H & Ozawa, K (2008), Enhancement of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in rare earth element doped BiFeO3, Journal of Applied Physics, 104, pp. 116109-1-116109-3.

Abstract

Rare earth element doped BiFeO₃ thin films were fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition method and various targets made from different starting Fe₂O₃ and Fe₃O₄ iron source materials. The films fabricated using the targets made from Fe₃O₄ exhibit great enhancement in their ferroelectricity, due to greatly reduced electrical leakage, as well as enhanced magnetization compared to those films deposited using targets from Fe₂O₃. It is suggested that the Fe²⁺ ion plays an important role in compensating for the charge imbalance and reducing current leakage, as well as enhancing the magnetic moment through the introduction of antiferrimagnetic ordering at Fe²⁺ site.