Studies of structural, ferroelectric, magnetic and electrical characteristics of Bi(Fe1−xNdx)O3 (x = 0.05, 0.10, 0.15) multiferroics

In this communication, the effect of the Fe-site modification by neodymium (Nd) on the structural, dielectric, ferroelectric, magnetic and electrical (impedance, conductivity) characteristics of mixed oxide synthesized bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) ceramics (i.e. Bi(Fe1−xNdx)O3; x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) has been studied in different experimental conditions. The structural analysis, carried out by using of X-ray diffraction data followed by the Rietveld refinement method, has shown structural modification from rhombohedral to orthorhombic symmetry. The impedance analysis shows that the synthesized compounds hold a non-Debye type of relaxation process. The doping of donor ions can overwhelm the existence of oxygen vacancies which increase the resistivity of the materials. The semiconductor characteristic of the synthesized compounds is observed at high temperature. The AC-conductivity (frequency-dependent) results of the materials follow the Jonscher's power law. Study of room-temperature ferroelectric hysteresis loop shows small remanent polarization (Pr) of 0.03 µC/cm2 measured at 5 kV/cm for x = 0.05 composition. The magnetic characteristics show that the Nd-doped BiFeO3 (for x = 0.05) is a weak ferromagnetic material. Numerous outcomes express the important doping significance in boosting of the multiferroic properties, which might be an open choice of BiFeO3 for some electronic devices.