Enhancement of ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties in calcium doped BiFeO<inf>3</inf> by chemical synthesis

Abstract

Abstract Calcium (Ca)-doped bismuth ferrite (BiFeO<inf>3</inf>) thin films prepared by using the polymeric precursor method (PPM) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), polarization and magnetic measurements. Structural studies by XRD and Rietveld refinement reveal the co-existence of distorted rhombohedral and tetragonal phases in the highest doped BiFeO<inf>3</inf> (BFO) where enhanced ferroelectric and magnetic properties are produced by internal strain. A high coercive field in the hysteresis loop is observed for the BiFeO<inf>3</inf> film. Fatigue and retention free characteristics are improved in the highest Ca-doped sample due to changes in the crystal structure of BFO for a primitive cubic perovskite lattice with four-fold symmetry and a large tetragonal distortion within the crystal domain.