A novel nanostructure and multiferroic properties in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3/CoFe2O4 nanocomposite films grown by pulsed-laser deposition

Multiferroic nanocomposite thin films containing Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 (PZT) and CoFe2O4(CFO) with a novel nanostructure are deposited on (1 0 0)-oriented Nb-doped SrTiO3 (STO) substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. Structural characterizations show that only PZT and CFO phases exist in the composite films, and the perovskite-structured PZT nano-pyramids with diameters of 50-100 nm are randomly embedded in the spinel-structured polycrystalline CFO matrix. Ferroelectric and magnetic hysteresis loops are simultaneously observed at room temperature. Magnetic-field-dependent capacitance measurement reveals an increase in capacitance of about 1.46% with an applied magnetic field. The multiferroic properties in the nanocomposite are also characterized by ferroelectric and magnetic domain imaging in the local areas of the sample.