Enhancement of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in rare earth element doped BiFeO3

Rare earth element doped BiFeO3 thin films were fabricated using the pulsed laser deposition method and various targets made from different starting Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 iron source materials. The films fabricated using the targets made from Fe3O4 exhibit great enhancement in their ferroelectricity, due to greatly reduced electrical leakage, as well as enhanced magnetization compared to those films deposited using targets from Fe2O3. It is suggested that the Fe2+ ion plays an important role in compensating for the charge imbalance and reducing current leakage, as well as enhancing the magnetic moment through the introduction of antiferrimagnetic ordering at Fe2+ site. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3035915]