Significantly reduced leakage current density in Mn-doped BiFeO<sub>3</sub> thin films deposited using spin coating technique
Waseem Ahmad Wani, Nilofar Naaz, B. Harihara Venkataraman, Souvik Kundu, Kannan Ramaswamy
Abstract
Abstract BiFeO 3 (BFO) and Mn-doped BFO thin films are prepared on indium tin oxide/glass substrates using wet chemical deposition technique. The role of Mn defects (3% to 10%) on the leakage current density and other physical properties of BFO thin film devices is investigated. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the single-phase formation of rhombohedrally distorted BFO thin films. The scanning electron microscopy images approve uniform and crack-free film depositions, which is of great importance to the practical device applications of such materials. The oxidation states are determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). These XPS results reveal the presence of multiple valence states of Fe ions (Fe 2+ , Fe 3+ ) and Mn (Mn 3+ , Mn 4+ ) ions, which play a decisive role in determining the leakage current density. However, the Mn-doping at the Fe site in BFO reduces oxygen vacancies and Fe 2+ states, hence suppressing the leakage current density. The leakage current density is reduced by three orders of magnitude (10 −4 – 10 −7 ) A/cm 2 , upon Mn-doping as clearly demonstrated by J-V characteristics. These results indicate that the primary contributors to the conduction in BFO based thin films are oxygen vacancies and the Fe 2+ states in these devices.