Mn4+:BiFeO3/Zn2+:BiFeO3 bilayered thin films of (111) orientation

Abstract Ferroelectric and fatigue behavior of bilayered thin films consisting of Mn 4+ -modified BiFeO 3 and Zn 2+ -modified BiFeO 3 , which were deposited on SrRuO 3 -buffered Pt coated silicon substrates, were systematically investigated. The (1 1 1) orientation is induced for the BiFe 0.95 Mn 0.05 O 3 /BiFe 0.95 Zn 0.05 O 3 bilayer, due to the introduction of the bottom BiFe 0.95 Zn 0.05 O 3 layer. With increasing the thickness ratio of the BiFe 0.95 Mn 0.05 O 3 layer, their leakage current decreases, and the fatigue endurance is greatly improved owing to the introduction of the BiFe 0.95 Mn 0.05 O 3 layer with a lower fatigue rate. The BiFe 0.95 Mn 0.05 O 3 /BiFe 0.95 Zn 0.05 O 3 bilayer with the thickness ratio of 3:1 exhibits a larger remanent polarization of 2 P r ∼ 161.0 μC/cm 2 than those of bilayers with different thickness ratios, while their coercive field slightly increases with increasing the thickness ratio of the BiFe 0.95 Mn 0.05 O 3 layer.