Investigation of multiferroic properties of pure and la doped bismuth ferrite

Abstract

Pure and La-doped bismuth ferrite (LaxBi1-xFeO 3; x=0 to 0.15) powders have been synthesized using solid state reaction method. XRD is used to characterize the structure, and it is found that these compounds have rhombohedral structure with R3c space group. The dielectric constant of these samples increases with the La concentration. Unsaturated P-E hysteresis loops have been observed along with the magnetization which indicates the multiferroicity. From magnetic studies, it is evident that these samples posses spin glass effects and a weak ferromagnetic order. Finally these samples are found to possess enhanced ferroelectric properties with weak magnetization. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.