Solid-Phase Epitaxy of BiFeO3 Films with Magnetoelectric Properties on Sapphire

Abstract

The ferroelectric domain structure has been investigated in bismuth-ferrite rhombohedral phase films prepared on the rhombohedral plane of sapphire by solid-phase epitaxy. The piezoelectric modulus has been estimated to be d₃₃ ~ 2 pm/V. In films of the Bi₂₅FeO₃₉–BiFeO₃ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉–BiFeO₃ systems on sapphire, the magnetoelectric-switching effect has been observed in bismuth ferrite crystallites without deposition of exchange-coupled layers. The values of the magnetic moment in bismuth ferrite microcrystallites have been estimated.