Influence of La doping in multiferroic properties of BiFeO3 thin films.

The influence of La doping on the crystal structure and multiferroic properties of BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films was investigated. BFO-based films of pure perovskite phase were deposited on BaPbO3/Pt/TiOx/SiO2/Si substrates by rf-magnetron sputtering. The increased dielectric constant and remanent polarization of the La-doped BFO films were due to the increased lattice parameters and an improved crystallinity. The polarization switching and the fatigue behavior of the BFO films were significantly enhanced by the La doping. The in-plane magnetization-field curves revealed that the room-temperature saturated magnetization of the BFO films increased with La doping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]