Magnetic, ferroelectric, and magnetodielectric properties of BiFeO3 ceramic co-doped with Eu and Gd

Polycrystalline samples of Bi0.9Eu0.1FeO3, Bi0.9Gd0.1FeO3, and Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3 ceramics were synthesized by a solid-state reaction method, followed by rapid quenching to room temperature. Bi0.9Eu0.1FeO3 shows higher magnetization than Bi0.9Gd0.1FeO3 and Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3. This can be explained by lattice distortion, and the change in the statistical distribution of Fe3+/Fe2+. Similarly, ferroelectric polarization of Bi0.9Eu0.1FeO3 was found to be higher than that of Bi0.9Gd0.1FeO3 and Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3. However, the absolute value of the magnetocapacitance of Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3 (∼1.6%) was found to be higher than that of Bi0.9Eu0.1FeO3 (∼1.3%) and Bi0.9 Gd 0.1FeO3 (∼1.1%). In addition, the quadratic component of magnetoelectric coupling is higher for Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3, which makes Bi0.9Eu0.05Gd0.05FeO3 attractive for further study.