Study on the ferroelectricity of Eu substituted BiFeO3 films

Eu substituted Bi1-xEuxFeO3 thin films are grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition method. The films with x = 0.00, 0.05 and 0.10 were prepared by annealing at 500 degrees C. The ferroelectric and dielectric properties of Eu substituted films are compared with those of BiFeO3 thin film. X-ray diffraction patterns indicate that all films are highly (100) preferential oriented with R3m structure. Cross-section scanning result shows that the thickness of the films is about 600 nm. Enhanced ferroelectricity at room temperature was observed in the 5% Eu substituted BiFeO3 film by measuring the electric hysteresis loops. The remnant polarizations are 66.3 mu C/cm(2), 72.1 mu C/cm(2) and 63.0 mu C/cm(2) respectively for the films with x = 0.00. 0.05 and 0.10 under different electric field, respectively. Moreover, all films show small dielectric dispersion and dielectric loss. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.