Reasons for the High Electrical Conductivity of Bismuth Ferrite and Ways to Minimize It

The reasons for the high electrical conductivity of bismuth ferrite due to its natural composite structure, structural non-stoichiometry, redox processes, and the boundary position in the perovskite family have been considered. It has been shown that it is possible to significantly (2–3 orders of magnitude) reduce the conductivity of BiFeO3 by introducing large-sized ions of rare-earth elements (REE: La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd with 0.94 ≤ R¯ ≤ 1.04 Å) in amounts of up to 10 mol %. An interpretation of the observed effects has been given. A consideration about the appropriateness of taking into account the presented results when developing devices using materials of the BiFeO3/REE type has been expressed.