Structural, magnetic, and ferroelectric properties of T-like cobalt-doped BiFeO3 thin films

Abstract

We present a comprehensive study of the physical properties of epitaxial cobalt-doped BiFeO3 films similar to 50 nm thick grown on (001) LaAlO3 substrates. X-ray diffraction and magnetic characterization demonstrate high quality purely tetragonal-like (T') phase films with no parasitic impurities. Remarkably, the step-and-terrace film surface morphology can be fully recovered following a local electric-field-induced rhombohedrallike to T' phase transformation. Local switching spectroscopy experiments confirm the ferroelectric switching to follow previously reported transition pathways. Critically, we show unequivocal evidence for conduction at domain walls between polarization variants in T'-like BFO, making this material system an attractive candidate for domain wall-based nanoelectronics. (c) 2018 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.