Effect of Zinc Doping on the Structure and Multiferroic Properties of Bismuth Ferrite Thin Films

Abstract

Abstract: BiFe_1-xZn_xO₃ (BFZO) (x=0, 2%, 4%, 6%) thin films were successfully prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by sol-gel method. The effect of Zn doping on the structure, surface morphology, leakage current density, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO₃ (BFO) thin films were investigated systematically. XRD patterns show that all samples match well with the perovskite structure without impurity phase. SEM images show that BFZO thin films with x=4% exhibit uniform fine grains and higher density, which is instrumental for the improvement of leakage current density. The leakage current density curve shows that BiFe_0.96Zn_0.04O₃ thin films have the lowest leakage current density (J=1.56×10^-6 A/cm²) under the electric field strength of 300 kV/cm, which is three orders of magnitude lower than that of pure BFO thin films. Furthermore, BiFe_0.96Zn_0.04O₃ thin film exhibits the largest remnant polarization (2P_r=20.91 μC/cm²) at room temperature, which is more than four times as large as that of pure BFO (2P_r=4.96 μC/cm²). Additionally, compared with BFO thin film, Zn doping also enhances the ferromagnetic properties of BFO thin films, and as Zn doping concentration increases, the saturation magnetization of BFZO thin films is significantly enhanced, which provides potential applications in information storage.

Key words: BiFeO₃, sol-gel method, leakage current density, remnant polarization, hysteresis loop, multiferroic property, Zn-doping

CLC Number:

YANG Song, HE Yingzi, WANG Jianwei, ZHANG Min, WANG Xu. Effect of Zinc Doping on the Structure and Multiferroic Properties of Bismuth Ferrite Thin Films[J]. Journal of Synthetic Crystals, 2023, 52(4): 621-628.

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