Dielectric, Ferroelectric, and Magnetic Properties of Sm-Doped BiFeO3 Ceramics Prepared by a Modified Solid-State-Reaction Method

Sm-doped BiFeO3 (BFO) material was prepared using a modified solid-state-reaction method, which used fast heating and cooling during the sintering process. The Sm doping level varied between 1 mol % to 8 mol %. Processing parameters, such as sintering temperature and annealing temperature, were optimized to obtain high-quality samples. Based on their dielectric properties, the optimum sintering and annealing temperatures were found to be 300 degrees C and 825 degrees C, respectively. Leakage-free square-shaped ferroelectric hysteresis loops were observed in all samples. The remnant polarization was maximized in the 5 mol %-doped sample (similar to 35 mu C/cm(2)). Furthermore, remnant magnetization was increased after the Sm doping and the 8 mol%-doped sample possessed the largest remnant magnetization of 0.007 emu/g. Our results demonstrated how the modified solid-state-reaction method proved to be an effective method for preparing high-quality BiFeO3 ceramics, as well as how the Sm dopant can efficiently improve ferroelectric and magnetic properties.