Structure, thermal expansion, and electrical properties of BiFeO3-NdMnO3 solid solutions

Bi1 - x Nd (x) Fe1 - x Mn (x) O-3 (0.03 a parts per thousand currency sign x a parts per thousand currency sign 0.21) solid solutions have been synthesized, and their crystal structure, thermal expansion, and electrical transport properties have been studied. The results demonstrate that the solid solutions have a rhombohedrally distorted and an orthorhombically distorted perovskite structure for x < 0.12 and x > 0.12, respectively, and that their unit-cell parameters decrease with increasing x. The Bi1 - x Nd (x) Fe1 - x Mn (x) O-3 solid solutions are shown to be p-type semiconductors, whose electrical conductivity increases with increasing x. The linear thermal expansion coefficient of the rhombohedrally and orthorhombically distorted solid solutions is (12.8-13.3) x 10(-6) and (10.0-11.7) x 10(-6) K-1, respectively.