Processing and Characterization of Multiferroic Bi-relaxors

TL;DR

This study compares two fabrication methods for a new room-temperature multiferroic material, demonstrating its promising electrical and magnetic properties for device applications.

Contribution

It introduces a new multiferroic compound and compares chemical solution deposition and pulsed-laser deposition methods for fabricating high-quality thin films.

Findings

High dielectric constants and polarization observed

Weak saturation magnetization demonstrated

Ferroelectric switching can be controlled with magnetic field

Abstract

We compare chemical solution deposition (CSD), and pulsed-laser-deposition (PLD), specimens of the new room-temperature, single-phase, multiferroic magnetoelectric, [PbFe2/3W1/3O3]x[PbZr0.53Ti0.47O3]1-x (PZTFWx ~ 0.40<x<0.20) with polarization, loss (<1%), and resistivity (typically 108 ohm.cm) equal to or superior to BiFeO3. Single phase polycrystalline multiferroics PZTFWx thin films were fabricated on platinized silicon substrate by CSD and as epitaxial single-crystal films on MgO substrate by PLD. High dielectric constants (1200- 3000), high polarization (30 - 60 micro C/cm2), weak saturation magnetization (0.48 - 4.53 emu/cm3), a broad dielectric temperature peak, high-frequency dispersion, low dielectric loss and low leakage current were observed in these materials, suggesting the family as candidates for room-temperature multiferroic devices. The ferroelectric switching in these materials can be suppressed or quenched with applied magnetic field.