Magnetic contributions in multiferroic gadolinium modified bismuth ferrite ceramics
Julian Walker, Anja Mirjanić, Uroš Prah, Matej Šadl, Oana Condurache, Andreja Benčan, Tadej Rojac, M. Grigoraş, Hana Uršič
Abstract
Bi0.88Gd0.12FeO3 multiferroics are of interest for next-generation electronics and are shown with a remnant magnetization 0.2 emu·g−1, coercive field 8 kOe, Curie temperature 370 °C and magnetization of 0.7 emu·g−1 at magnetic fields 30 kOe. Scanning probe microscopy confirmed the intrinsic multiferroicity in the perovskite phase with coexistence of ferroelectric/ferroelastic and ferromagnetic domain structures. Strong magnetic hysteresis was produced by thermal cycling to 1000 °C due to degeneration of the perovskite phase into iron oxide inclusions, highlighting the importance of processing, thermal history and thermodynamic stability for minimizing the amount of parasitic magnetic secondary phases.