Reduced Coercive Field in BiFeO3 Thin Films through Domain Engineering

Abstract

The bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) material offers a comprehensive package of multifunctionality. In addition to the multiferroic behavior, i.e. coexistence of electric and magnetic orderings,[1] it also exhibits photovoltaic effect, [2] metal-insulator transition,[3] electric modulation of conduction,[4] and terahertz radiation emission.[5] The possibility of joint control of electric, magnetic, and optical properties provides several degrees of freedom to design exotic devices. It is a ‘green energy’ material in the sense that it is lead-free and energy-efficient due to cryogen-less functionality. Therefore, a wide variety of applications in terms of sensors, memories and spintronic devices are foreseen.[6] However, the incipient lower value of magneto-electric coupling has raised skepticism regarding its multiferroic capabilities and allied applications.[6] Nevertheless, the highest value of ferroelectric polarization (~ 100 μC.cm-2) is very promising for next generation ferroelectric random access memory devices.