Structural and electrical properties of 0.7BiFeO3–0.3CaTiO3 solid solution thin films deposited from solutions

BiFeO3 (BFO) and 0.7BiFeO3–0.3CaTiO3 (7B3C) thin films were prepared on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by using a chemical solution deposition method. The microstructures and the surface morphologies of the thin films were investigated by obtaining the X-ray diffraction patterns, Raman scattering spectra, and by performing scanning electron microscopic analyses. The experimental results showed the 7B3C solid solution thin film to exhibit superior ferroelectric properties. A low leakage current density and dramatically enhanced ferroelectric properties were observed for the 7B3C solid solution thin film. In addition, this solid solution thin film exhibited a soft ferroelectric nature with a large remnant polarization of 35.3 C/cm2 at an applied electric field of 565 kV/cm and a low coercive electric field of 172 kV/cm, while the BFO thin film exhibited an irregular ferroelectric hysteresis loop with a large current density in comparison.