Bi containing multiferroic perovskite oxide thin films

Abstract: In this work multiferroic thin films of Bi containing perovskite oxides are discussed, where the driving force for ferroelectricity are the Bi3+ lone-pair electrons. First, a brief introduction of Bi containing multiferroic perovskite oxides will be presented to describe the mechanisms for establishing magnetic and ferroelectric order in these compounds and some recent developments in this field of research are reported. The second section addresses experimental aspects of epitaxial thin film growth of BiMnO3, (Bi0.9La0.1)2NiMnO6 (BLNMO) and BiFeO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition. The third section is dedicated to the physical properties of such films in terms of structural characterization and the magnetic and ferroelectric properties and their correlations in form of magnetoelectric coupling (MEC).