Effect of annealing temperature on the ferroelectric properties of BiFeO3 thin films prepared by sol-gel process

Sol-gel process was adopted to prepare BiFeO3 films. BiFeO3 films were deposited on LaNiO3 coated Si(100) substrates annealed at 500 and 550 °C, respectively. The X-ray diffraction results reveal that BiFeO3 film has a rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure with space group R3c. The film annealed at 500 °C has larger remnant polarization (Pr) of 35.3 µC/cm2. For the film annealed at 550 °C, smaller remnant polarization of Pr=4.8 µC/cm2 is observed for its low breakdown electric field. Lower leakage conduction is observed in the film annealed at 500 °C at low applied field.