Effect of Tb doping on electric and magnetic behavior of BiFeO3 thin films

The effect of Tb doping on crystal structure and electric and magnetic behavior of BiFeO3 thin films prepared via a solution processing on (111)Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates was studied. The substitution of Bi ions by a small amount of Tb ions could stabilize the valence of Fe3+ in BiFeO3 thin films, and as indicated by transmission electron microscope images and largely reduced leakage current in comparison with pure BiFeO3 thin films, the quality of the films was improved by Tb doping. Electric and magnetic behavior of Tb-doped BiFeO3 films was investigated with employing La-doped BiFeO3 films as comparison. Large enhancement in both remnant and saturation polarization and the polarization switching were observed in Tb-doped BiFeO3 films, while the inhomogeneous spin-modulated magnetic structure of BiFeO3 was not modified through Tb substitution but by La substitution. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.