Enhancement of electrical properties in polycrystalline BiFeO3 thin films

Ferroelectric BiFeO3 thin films were grown on Pt∕TiO2∕SiO2∕Si substrates by pulsed-laser deposition. From the x-ray diffraction analysis, the BiFeO3 thin films consist of perovskite single phase, and the crystal structure shows the tetragonal structure with a space group P4mm. The BiFeO3 thin films show enhanced electrical properties with low leakage current density value of ∼10−4A∕cm2 at a maximum applied voltage of 31V. This enhanced electrical resistivity allowed the authors to obtain giant ferroelectric polarization values such as saturation polarizations of 110 and 166μC∕cm2 at room temperature and 80K, respectively.