Compositionally graded bismuth ferrite thin films

The compositionally graded (Bi(0.92)La(0.08))(Fe(1-x)Zn(x))O(3) (x=0.03, 0.07, and 0.13) thin film was layer-by-layer grown on Pt/Ti/SiO(2)/Si(1 0 0) substrates without any buffer layers by radio frequency sputtering. This thin film has a pure polycrystalline perovskite structure with random orientation, a dense microstructure, and a low leakage current density. A large remanent polarization of 2P(r)similar to 142.00 mu C/cm(2) and a good magnetic behavior of 2M(s)similar to 27.52 emu/cm(3) are demonstrated in such a thin film. The applied electric fields and measurement frequencies strongly affect its fatigue endurance, that is, its fatigue endurance was degraded with decreasing frequencies and electric fields. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.