Crystallographic, magnetic, and ferroelectric structures of bulklike BiFeO3 thin films

Bi Fe O 3 thin films deposited on (111)-SrTiO3 substrates present both structural (rhombohedral) and multiferroic properties similar to bulk. The structural relaxation occurring when thickness increases and the low critical thickness possibly indicate different defect types and distribution as compared to (001)-BiFeO3, which may influence multiferroic domain dynamics. The same G-type antiferromagnetic order as in bulk is observed by neutron diffraction, with a superimposed weak ferromagnetic moment (10emu∕cm3) showing a planar anisotropy of 5kJ∕m3. When doped with 5% Mn these films also exhibit a polarization of 95μC∕cm2 along the [111] direction at room temperature, similar to high-quality BiFeO3 single crystals.