Enhanced dielectric and multiferroic properties of single-phase Y and Zr co-doped BiFeO3 ceramics

We report the structural, dielectric, and multiferroic properties of single-phase Y and Zr co-doped BiFeO3 (BFO) ceramics. Enhancement in dielectric properties, frequency independence, and ferroelectric properties are observed in co-doped BFO due to the reduction of oxygen vacancies by co-doping. Co-doped samples exhibited double hysteresis loop-like magnetization-magnetic field curves with a significantly enhanced remnant magnetization (similar to 0.41496 emu/g when Y and Zr concentration is 0.15 and 0.05). The possible reasons may be the co-doping induced collapse of cycloidal spin structure, internal structural distortion, and reduction of average particle size to be less than period of the spin cycloid. The improved dielectric and multiferroic properties obtained by co-doping demonstrate the possibility of bulk BFO to practical applications. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.