Modulation of magnetic, ferroelectric and leakage properties by HoFeO3 substitution in multiferroic 0.7BiFeO3-0.3Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 solid solutions

Abstract An investigation on the structural, magnetic, electrical properties of HoFeO3-substituted 0.7BiFeO3-0.3Ba0.8Ca0.2TiO3 solid solutions synthesized using conventional solid state reaction method was carried out. The structural study confirms that an additional orthorhombic (Pbnm) phase of HoFeO3 appears in the ceramic matrix and the presence of the aforementioned phase significantly influences the magnetic characteristics in the solid solutions. A detailed high temperature dielectric study suggests that the oxygen vacancies can be effectively controlled by the appropriate amount of substitution, successively regulating the ferroelectric as well as the leakage properties in the ceramics. Furthermore, the foremost remnant polarization and the feeble dielectric loss is achieved when the substitution content is x~0.2. Therefore, an appropriate amount of HoFeO3 substitution can be an effective way to modulate the multiferroic properties in the present ceramics.