Solution Synthesis of BiFeO3 Thin Films onto Silicon Substrates with Ferroelectric, Magnetic, and Optical Functionalities

Single‐BiFeO3 perovskite films onto Pt‐coated silicon substrates have been fabricated by chemical solution deposition using a synthesis strategy based on the use of nonhazardous reagents. Different routes were tested to obtain precursors for the deposition of the films, inferring that bismuth (III) nitrate and iron (III) 2,4‐pentanedionate dissolved in acetic acid and 1,3‐propendiol led to the best solution. Ferroelectric, magnetic, and optical functionalities were demonstrated in these films, obtaining a high ferroelectric polarization at room temperature, ~67 μC × cm−2, a dependence of the magnetization with the film thickness, 0.60 and 2.50 emu × g−1 for the ~215 and ~42‐nm‐thick films, and a direct band gap in the visible range, Eg ~2.82 eV. These results support the interest of solution methods for the fabrication of BiFeO3 thin films onto the silicon substrates required in microelectronic devices.