Structural, magnetic, and nanoscale switching properties of BiFeO3 thin films grown by pulsed electron deposition

摘要

We report the epitaxial growth of BiFeO3 by pulsed electron deposition andthe resulting crystal quality, magnetic and nanoscale switching properties.X-ray diffraction shows high quality single phase, epitaxial (001) orientedfilms grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates. Both field and temperature dependentmagnetic properties reveal an antiferromagnetic behavior of the films. For thefilm with a SrRuO3 bottom electrode, an exchange-enhancement effect betweenantiferromagnetic BiFeO3 and ferromagnetic SrRuO3 was observed at lowtemperature. The piezoelectric force microscopy and switching spectroscopymeasurements demonstrate the local domain switching process and suggest thatthe BiFeO3 films are high quality ferroelectrics.