Synthesis of powders and thin films of bismuth ferrite from solution: a magneto-electric study

Metalorganic decomposition and coprecipitation from aqueous solution have been used to synthesize thin film and bulk bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) with perovskite structure. X-ray diffraction, thermomagnetic analysis, and scanning electron microscopy were used to analyze the material and identify spurious phases. The magnetic characterization at room temperature revealed remarkable differences between bulk and film samples. The results show that in BiFeO3 bulk ceramics, spontaneous magnetization is not observed at room temperature. Nevertheless, in thin films, a well-defined ferromagnetic behavior is observed at room temperature. Dielectric measurements taken on ceramic samples present an anomaly around 643 K that can be associated with the Neel temperature.