Effect of niobium dopant on fatigue characteristics of BiFeO3 thin films grown on Pt electrodes

Pure BiFeO3 (BFO) and Nb-doped (BFN) thin films were fabricated by the soft chemical method. The films were polycrystalline when deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate and annealed at 500 degrees C for 2 h. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the film was fully crystallized. The grain size decreased in the BFN films due the suppression of oxygen vacancy concentration in the BFO lattice. The Nb dopant is effective in improving electrical properties of BFO films. With increase niobium content we obtained thin films free of fatigue up to 10(8) cycles. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V.