BiFeO3 thin films deposited on LaNiO3-buffered SiO2/Si substrate

Abstract

The BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films that were successfully grown on the LaNiO3 (LNO)-buffered SiO2/Si(100) substrate by off-axis radio frequency sputtering demonstrate enhanced electrical behavior, which are attributed to the well-grown dense film texture at temperatures around 650°C. The LNO buffer layer promoted the growth of BFO film texture, leading to a lowered leakage current, although too high a deposition temperature gave rise to a defective film texture. The ferroelectric behavior of these BFO thin films are therefore strongly dependent on the film deposition temperature, whereby an improved polarization is observed for the film deposited at 650°C. On the basis of the temperature- and frequency-dependent impedance studies, oxygen vacancies are shown to be involved in the conduction and dielectric relaxation of BFO thin films. © 2010 The American Ceramic Society.