Magnetic properties of Ni-substituted BiFeO3

BiFe_1−xNi_xO₃ ceramic powders with x up to 0.10 have been prepared by the sol-gel technique. The band gap of BiFeO₃ is 2.23 eV, and decreases to 2.09 eV for BiFe_0.95Ni_0.05O₃ and BiFe_0.90Ni_0.10O₃. The Mössbauer spectra show sextet at room temperature, indicating the magnetic ordering and the presence of only Fe³⁺ ions. Superparamagnetism with blocking temperature of 31 K for BiFe_0.95Ni_0.05O₃ and 100 K for BiFe_0.90Ni_0.10O₃ was observed. Enhanced magnetization at room temperature have been observed (1.0 emu/g for BiFe_0.95Ni_0.05O₃ and 2.9 emu/g for BiFe_0.90Ni_0.10O₃ under magnetic field of 10,000 Oe), which is one order larger than that of BiFeO₃ (0.1 emu/g under magnetic field of 10,000 Oe). The enhanced magnetization was attributed to the suppression of the cycloidal spin structure by Ni³⁺ substitution and the ferrimagnetic interaction between Fe³⁺ and Ni³⁺ ions.     

氧含量对CaCu3Ti4O12巨介电常数和介电过程的影响

本文研究了在真空、空气和氧气中烧结制备的三种 CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂陶瓷材料的介电特性. 交流阻抗测量结果表明在10—300 K温度范围, 三种样品的介电温谱中均出现三个平台, 其电阻实部和电容虚部在相应温度出现损耗峰, 真空条件烧结的样品具有较高的介电平台和较明显的电阻实部与电容虚部峰值, 表明氧含量和氧空位对CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂的介电性质具有重要影响, 介电温谱出现的三个平台分别源于晶粒、晶界及氧空位陷阱.温谱分析表明晶粒的激活能与烧结气氛有较大关系,氧空位引起的电子短程跳跃及跳跃产生的极化子是晶粒电导和电容的主要起源.氧空位陷阱的激活能基本与烧结气氛无关,约为0.46 eV. 氧空位对载流子的陷阱作用是CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ 低频高介电常数的重要起源.     

Phase transition and thermodynamic properties of BiFeO3 from first-principles calculations

The first-principles projector-augmented wave method employing the quasi-harmonic Debye model,is applied to investigate the thermodynamic properties and the phase transition between the trigonal R3c structure and the orthorhombic Pnma structure.It is found that at ambient temperature,the phase transition from the trigonal R3c phase to the orthorhombic Pnma phase is a first-order antiferromagnetic-nonmagnetic and insulator-metal transition,and occurs at 10.56 GPa,which is in good agreement with experimental data.With increasing temperature,the transition pressure decreases almost linearly.Moreover,the thermodynamic properties including Grneisen parameter,heat capacity,entropy,and the dependences of thermal expansion coefficient on temperature and pressure are also obtained.     

Effect of magnetic annealing on magnetization of BiFeO3 ceramics

The effect of magnetic annealing treatment on the magnetization of multiferroic BiFeO₃ was studied systematically. A series of pelletized nano-sized BiFeO₃ powders were annealed at high temperature under different magnetic fields. Typical ferromagnetic hysteresis loops were obtained at room temperature of the ceramics which were derived from ferromagnetic BiFeO₃ precursors. On the other hand, antiferromagnetic behaviors were observed in other samples synthesized from nonmagnetic precursors. The enhanced magnetic properties were ascribed to the magnetic anisotropy which was induced by the strong magnetic fields. This work indicates that the strong magnetic annealing method is an alternative approach to tuning the magnetic properties of high performance multiferroic materials with canted antiferromagnetic ordering.     

Soft-mode driven tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transition in multiferroic BiFeO3

The phase transition of BiFeO₃ (BFO) from tetragonal to monoclinic induced by pressure was investigated by first-principles method. The sequential monoclinic phase, _Ma$M_{\mathrm{a}}$, which is favorable during low compression with respect to the tetragonal phase, was characterized. The order parameters were calculated in the vicinity of the phase transition, showing that phase transition has a second-order character. The results demonstrated that the pressure-induced tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transition in BFO is related to the softening behavior of the E mode, which are very helpful in further investigations of the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) in lead-free materials.     

多铁性BiFeO3纳米颗粒的尺寸依赖磁性能研究

采用乙二胺四乙酸杂化溶胶法制备了不同晶粒尺寸的纯相BiFeO₃纳米颗粒,并利用X射线衍射仪、扫描电镜、超导量子干涉仪和Mossbauer 谱系统研究了其结构、形貌以及磁性能.结果表明: BiFeO₃纳米颗粒具有明显的弱铁磁性,并呈现强烈的尺寸依赖特性; 这种弱铁磁性主要源于纳米材料的尺寸限制效应,而非杂质相或Fe²⁺ 的存在所致.     

Magnetic and dielectric properties of alkaline earth Ca and Ba ions co-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles

Ca²⁺ and Ba²⁺ ions co-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles, Bi_0.8Ca_0.2−xBa_xFeO₃ (x=0-0.20), were prepared by a sol-gel method. The phase structure, grain size, dielectric and magnetic properties of the prepared samples were investigated. The results showed that the lattice structure of the nanoparticles transformed from rhombohedral (x=0) to orthorhombic (x=0.07-0.19) and then to tetragonal (x=0.20) with x increased. The dielectric properties of the nanoparticles were affected by the properties of the substitutional ions as well as the crystalline structure of the samples. The magnetic properties of the nanoparticles were greatly improved and the T_N of the nanoparticles was obviously increased. All the Ca²⁺ and Ba²⁺ ions co-doped BiFeO₃ nanoparticles presented the high ratio of M_r/M from 0.527 to 0.571 and large coercivity from 4.335 to 5.163 KOe.     

Probing of local ferroelectricity in BiFeO3 thin films and (BiFeO3)m(SrTiO3)m superlattices

Ferroelectric BiFeO₃ thin films and artificial superlattices of (BiFeO₃)_m(SrTiO₃)_m (m∼1-10 unit cells) were fabricated on (0 0 1)-oriented SrTiO₃ substrates by pulsed laser ablation. The variation of leakage current and macroscopic polarization with periodicity was studied. Piezo force microscopy studies revealed the presence of large ferroelectric domains in the case of BiFeO₃ thin films while a size reduction in ferroelectric domains was observed in the case of superlattice structures. The results show that the modification of ferroelectric domains through superlattice could provide an additional control on engineering the domain wall mediated functional properties.     

Mn:BiFeO3/Zn:BiFeO3 bilayered thin films of (1 1 1) orientation

Ferroelectric and fatigue behavior of bilayered thin films consisting of Mn⁴⁺-modified BiFeO₃ and Zn²⁺-modified BiFeO₃, which were deposited on SrRuO₃-buffered Pt coated silicon substrates, were systematically investigated. The (1 1 1) orientation is induced for the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃/BiFe_0.95Zn_0.05O₃ bilayer, due to the introduction of the bottom BiFe_0.95Zn_0.05O₃ layer. With increasing the thickness ratio of the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ layer, their leakage current decreases, and the fatigue endurance is greatly improved owing to the introduction of the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ layer with a lower fatigue rate. The BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃/BiFe_0.95Zn_0.05O₃ bilayer with the thickness ratio of 3:1 exhibits a larger remanent polarization of 2P_r ∼ 161.0 μC/cm² than those of bilayers with different thickness ratios, while their coercive field slightly increases with increasing the thickness ratio of the BiFe_0.95Mn_0.05O₃ layer.     

Effect of magnetic annealing on phonon behaviors of nanocrystalline BiFeO3

Influence of magnetic annealing at 823 K up to 10 T (T) on the phonon behaviors of nanocrystalline BiFeO₃ was investigated by Raman spectroscopy. The frequencies of fundamental Raman modes increase obviously with increasing annealing magnetic field, and the intensity of the 1260 cm⁻¹ two-phonon mode decreases. The pronounced anomalies of Raman phonon modes under magnetic annealing are attributed to the change of the spin-phonon coupling due to the modulation of spiral spin order. Furthermore, the temperature dependence of Raman peak positions, for the two prominent modes (147 and 176 cm⁻¹), show no notable anomaly around T_N except the sample annealed under 10 T magnetic field; meanwhile, in this sample, another obvious phonon anomaly occurs at ∼150 K (another magnetic phase transition point), which indicate that stronger magnetic annealing with 10 T intensely enhances the spin-phonon coupling, and possibly increases magnetoelectric coupling of nanocrystalline BiFeO₃ due to severely modulation of spiral spin order.     

Influence of heating rate on the crystalline properties of 0.7BiFeO3-0.3PbTiO3 thin films prepared by sol-gel process

0.7BiFeO₃-0.3PbTiO₃ (BFPT7030) thin films were deposited on SiO₂/Si substrates by sol-gel process. The influence of heating rate on the crystalline properties of BFPT7030 thin films were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XRD patterns of the films showed that a pure perovskite phase exists in BFPT7030 films annealed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technique. SEM and AFM observations demonstrated that the BFPT7030 films annealed by RTA at 700 °C for 90 s with the heating rate of 1 °C s⁻¹ could show a dense, crack-free surface morphology, and the films’ grains grow better than those of the films annealed by RTA at the same temperature with other heating rates. XPS results of the films indicated that the ratio of Fe³⁺:Fe²⁺ is about 21:10 and 9:5 for the films annealed by RTA at 700 °C for 90 s with the heating rate of 1 and 20 °C s⁻¹, respectively. That means the higher the heating rate, the higher the concentration of Fe²⁺ in the BFPT7030 thin films.     

Effect of La doping in the multiferroic compound BiFeO3

We have performed magnetization and magnetocapacitance measurements on ceramic samples of the multiferroic series Bi_1−xLa_xFeO₃ for 0≤x≤.0.25. We show that doping with La reduces the transition magnetic field from the spatially modulated state to a homogenous one and increases the magnetocapacitance, these effects being the strongest for x=0.15, which is the highest concentration for maintaining the non-centrosymmetric rhomboedral structure (R3c) of BiFeO₃. For highest La content (x≥0.17), analysis of the XRD patterns shows that the lattice symmetry gradually changes to orthorhombic (C222), giving rise to an enhancement of the latent magnetization and to a drop of the magnetodielectric constant.     

Preparation of Nd-doped BiFeO3 films and their electrical properties

The Nd-doped BiFeO₃ thin films were prepared on SnO₂(FTO) substrates spin-coated by the sol–gel method using Nd(NO₃)₃·6H₂O, Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O and Bi(NO₃)₃·5H₂O as raw materials. The microstructure and electric properties of the BiFeO₃ thin films were characterized and tested. The results indicate that the diffraction peak of the Nd-doped BiFeO₃ films is shifted towards right as the doping amounts are increased. The structure is transformed from the rhombohedral to pseudotetragonal phase. The crystal grain is changed from an elliptical to irregular polyhedron. Structure transition occurring in the Bi_0.85Nd_0.15FeO₃ films gives rise to the largest Pr of 64 μC/cm². The leakage conductance of the Nd doped thin films is reduced. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of Bi_0.85Nd_0.15FeO₃ thin film at 10 kHz are 190 and 0.017 respectively.     

Local leakage current behaviours of BiFeO3 films

The leakage current behaviours of polycrystalline BiFeO₃ thin films are investigated by using both conductive atomic force microscopy and current-voltage characteristic measurements. The local charge transport pathways are found to be located mainly at the grain boundaries of the films. The leakage current density can be tuned by changing the post-annealing temperature, the annealing time, the bias voltage and the light illumination, which can be used to improve the performances of the ferroelectric devices based on the BiFeO₃ films. A possible leakage mechanism is proposed to interpret the charge transports in the polycrystalline BiFeO₃ films.     

Influence of substrate temperature in BiFeO3-CoFe2O4 nanocomposites deposited on SrTiO3 (0 0 1)

BiFeO₃-CoFe₂O₄ epitaxial nanocomposites have been deposited on SrTiO₃ (0 0 1) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. We present here a study of the influence of the deposition temperature (T_S), in the 550-800 °C range, on the film composition, morphology and microstructure. Electron-probe microanalysis shows strong reduction of the Bi content in the films when increasing T_S. Films prepared at T_S=750 °C and above are virtually Bi-free. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data show that, due to the volatility of Bi, there is a progressive reduction in the amount of BiFeO₃. The deposition temperature and the concomitant presence of Fe_xO_y spurious phases in the nanocomposites grown at high temperature promote radical changes in film morphology and magnetization. It thus follows that a temperature range suitable for controlled modification of nanocomposites morphology would be extremely narrow.     

Ab initio study on phase transition and magnetism of BiFeO3 under pressure

In this paper the first-principles calculations within local spin density approximation (LSDA)+U show that BiFeO3 experiences a mixed phase state with P4mm structure being the intermediate phase before the pressure of phase transition is reached. The critical pressure for the insulator-metal transition (IMT) is found to be about 50 GPa. A pressure induced crossover of high-spin states and low-spin states is observed close to the IMT pressure in R3c structure. The LSDA+U calculations account well for the mechanism of the IMT and crossover of spin states predicted in recent experiment (Ref.[1]).     

The structural and multiferroic properties of (Bi1−xLax)(Fe0.95Co0.05)O3 ceramics

La and Co co-doped BiFeO₃ ((Bi_1−xLa_x)(Fe_0.95Co_0.05)O₃ (x=0, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30)) ceramics were prepared by tartaric acid modified sol–gel method. The X-ray diffraction patterns indicate a transition from rhombohedral structure to tetragonal structure at x=0.20, which has been confirmed by the Raman measurements. The band gap increases with increasing x to 0.20, and then decreases with further increasing x to 0.30. The structural transition has significant effects on the multiferroic properties. The remnant magnetization and saturate ferromagnetic magnetization decrease abruptly with increasing x to 0.10, and then gradually increase with further increasing x up to 0.30. The coercivity is significantly reduced with increasing La doping concentration. The ferroelectricity has been improved by La doping, and the polarization increases with increasing x to 0.10, then decreases with further increasing x up to 0.30. The simultaneous coexistence of soft ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity at room temperature in tetragonal Bi_0.70La_0.30Fe_0.95Co_0.05O₃ indicates the potential multiferroic applications.     

The multiferroic properties of Bi(Fe0.95Co0.05)O3 films

Bi(Fe_0.95Co_0.05)O₃ films were prepared on conductive indium tin oxide (ITO)/glass substrates by chemical solution deposition. Well saturated polarization hysteresis loop has been observed with a remnant polarization value of about 22 μC/cm² at room temperature. Weak ferromagnetism with saturation magnetization of about 3 emu/cm³ was observed at room temperature. The clear observation of both room temperature ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties suggests the potential multiferroic applications of Bi(Fe_0.95Co_0.05)O₃.     

Enhanced magnetization and suppressed current leakage in BiFeO3 ceramics prepared by spark plasma sintering of sol-gel derived nanoparticles

BiFeO₃ (BFO) ceramics of different grain size have been synthesized by spark plasma sintering of sol-gel derived nanoparticles. It was found that with decreasing grain size there occurs an enhancement in magnetization and a simultaneous suppression in current leakage. According to systematic materials characterization, the enhanced magnetization is attributed to the enriched grain boundaries where the missing structural order perturbs the spin helix structure of BFO and thus generates uncompensated spins, while the reduced current leakage is ascribed to fewer conduction paths provided by the compacted grain structure.