Abstract
Bismuth iron oxide (BiFeO3 or BFO) is a particularly interesting multiferroic perovskite with ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic transition temperatures significantly above room temperature. In this work, BiFeO 3 films are synthesized by a chemical solution deposition (CSD) sol-gel process on platinized silicon substrates and by physical vapor deposition (PVD) through RF-sputtering on iridium-sapphire substrates. The crystallization behavior and phase assemblage of these films was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Analysis of CSD-prepared films revealed that a 0.25 M solution with 5% excess bismuth annealed at 550 °C in air produced polycrystalline films with the lowest occurrence of non-perovskite Bismuth iron oxide phases. For films made by PVD, the absence of oxygen during sputtering was found to enhance phase purity, and using a target with 7% excess bismuth allowed phase-pure films to be prepared at 600 °C. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) were used to investigate the microstructure of the BiFeO3 films. Porosity was found to be a significant problem in CSD-prepared films that were dried on a hotplate at 300 °C before annealing. Lowering the temperature of this drying step or omitting it was found to decrease root-mean-square (rms) surface roughness. The microstructure of the sputtered films was found to be dense, uniform, and crack-free a surface roughness of to 16 nm for BiFeO3 sputtered at 600 °C.
Original language | English (US) |
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Title of host publication | 17th IEEE International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics, ISAF 2008 |
Volume | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1 2008 |
Event | 17th IEEE International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics, ISAF 2008 - Santa Fe, NM, United States Duration: Feb 23 2008 → Feb 28 2008 |
Other
Other | 17th IEEE International Symposium on the Applications of Ferroelectrics, ISAF 2008 |
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Country/Territory | United States |
City | Santa Fe, NM |
Period | 2/23/08 → 2/28/08 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials