Effect of Cr doping on the structure, optical and magnetic properties of multiferroic BiFeO3 thin films

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2012-06, Vol.23 (6), p.1215-1218
• Main Authors: Deng, Huan, Deng, Hongmei, Yang, Pingxiong, Chu, Junhao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chromium; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Domain effects, magnetization curves, and hysteresis; Doping; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Magnetic properties and materials; Magnetic properties of nanostructures; Magnetization curves, magnetization reversal, hysteresis, barkhausen and related effects; Materials Science; Materials synthesis; materials processing; Modular; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures; Physics; Spectroscopy; Thin films; Transformations
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-011-0575-7

Multiferroic BiCr x Fe 1− x O 3 (BCFO) (0 ≤  x  ≤ 0.12) thin films were fabricated on silicon substrates by sol–gel technique. The microstructure and properties of the films are characterized using X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry, micro-Raman spectrometry and a Modular Control system. The BCFO films are the rhombohedral structure with the Cr content up to 7%. Raman scattering spectra of the BCFO films demonstrate the transformation of structure with the Cr content exceeding 10%. The band gap of the BCFO films is from 2.53 to 2.82 eV with the Cr content being from 0 to 12%. The magnetization of the BCFO films is significantly enhanced with the increasing of the Cr content.