Modulating light absorption and multiferroic properties of BiFeO3-based ferroelectric films by the introduction of ZnO layer

Pure bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3, BFO) and ZnO thin films, as well as BFO/ZnO and ZnO/BFO composite thin films were successfully deposited by a sol-gel process on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and FTO/glass substrates, respectively. The chemical composition, surface morphology, optical properties, and multiferroicity were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy measurements were used to determine the crystalline phase and to analyze the surface morphology. Evidently, the absorption edges of both BFO/ZnO and ZnO/BFO films show a redshift, broadening the absorption range. The leakage current density decreases with the introduction of ZnO, and the ferroelectricity was significantly improved of the bilayers. Thereinto, BFO/ZnO and ZnO/BFO show the highest saturate polarization (2P (s)) of 46.7 mu c cm(-2) and the maximum remanent polarization (2P (r)) of 18.5 mu c cm(-2), respectively. Meanwhile, the magnetization measurement revealed that both BFO/ZnO and ZnO/BFO exhibiting an enhanced magnetization, especially, BFO/ZnO displays the highest saturation magnetization (2M (s), 68.87 emu cm(-3)) and remanent magnetization (2M (r), 4.87 emu cm(-3)).

Automated summary

Pure bismuth ferrite (BFO), zinc oxide (ZnO), and BFO/ZnO and ZnO/BFO composite thin films were successfully fabricated using a sol-gel process. The composite thin films showed broader absorption range, lower leakage current density, and improved ferroelectric and magnetic properties compared to the pure films.