Effects of BaTiO3 and SrTiO3 as the buffer layers of epitaxial BiFeO3 thin films

BiFeO3 （BFO） thin films with BaTiO3 （BTO） or SrTiO3 （STO） as buffer layer were epitaxially grown on SrRuO3-covered SrTiO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction measurements show that the BTO buffer causes tensile strain in the BFO films, whereas the STO buffer causes compressive strain. Different ferroelectric domain structures caused by these two strain statuses are revealed by piezoelectric force microscopy. Electrical and magnetical measurements show that the tensile-strained BFO/BTO samples have reduced leakage current and large ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, compared with compressively strained BFO/STO. These results demonstrate that the electrical and magnetical properties of BFO thin films can be artificially modified by using a buffer layer.