Multiferroic properties of Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12-NiFe2O4-Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 trilayer composite thin films prepared by a sol-gel process

Lead-free multiferroic Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12-NiFe2O4-Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 trilayer composite thin films were oriented and deposited on LaNiO3/Si substrates via sol-gel method. In the heterostructures, the coexistence of ferroelectric polarization (P (r) = 7 mu C/cm(2)), magnetization (M (s) = 110 emu/cm(3)), high in-plane magnetoelectric voltage coefficient (alpha(E) = 43 mV/cm Oe), and distinct converse magnetoelectric effect has been validated at room temperature, which is advantageous for multi-functional devices. The improved magnetic and magnetoelectric properties may be due to the oriented growth, whereas the ferroelectric properties was enhanced because of the improved fatigue endurance properties and reduced leakage current.