Structural and Electrical Studies on (Nd, V) Co-doped (Bi_0.9Nd_0.1)(Fe_0.975V_0.025)O_3+δ Thin Films

Abstract

We prepared pure BiFeO₃ (BFO) and co-doped (Bi_0.9Nd_0.1)(Fe_0.975V_0.025)O_3+δ (BNFVO) thin films on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si(100) substrates by using a chemical solution deposition method. Improved electrical properties were observed in the co-doped BNFVO thin film. The leakage current density of the co-doped BNFVO thin film was four orders of magnitude lower than that of the pure BFO, 2.6 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm² at 100 kV/cm. The remnant polarization (2P_r) and the coercive electric field (2E_c) of the co-doped BNFVO thin film were 56 μC/cm² and 1393 kV/cm at an applied electric field of 1110 kV/cm and at a frequency of 1 kHz, and the values decreased with increasing measurement frequency to 18 μC/cm² and 1282 kV/cm at 10 kHz, respectively. We also confirmed that the remnant polarization (2P_r) and the coercive electric field (2E_c) were fairly saturated above a measurement frequency of 20 kHz for the BNFVO thin film.

Keywords:

• BiFeO₃ thin film
• chemical solution deposition
• leakage current density
• hysteresis loops

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Priority Research Centers Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2010-0029634).