Microstructures and electrical properties of a Li–ZnO/BiFeO3 double-layered thin film fabricated by a chemical solution deposition method

In this report, the structural, microstructural, electrical, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties of a Zn0.88Li0.12O1-δ/BiFeO3 double-layered thin film are reported. A chemical solution deposition method was used to deposit the Zn0.88Li0.12O1-δ/BiFeO3 double-layered thin film on the Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrate. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic studies indicated the formation of hexagonal wurtzite and rhombohedral perovskite structures for the double-layered thin film. As compared with the BiFeO3 thin film, the Zn0.88Li0.12O1-δ/BiFeO3 thin film exhibited enhanced electrical, dielectric, and ferroelectric properties. The leakage current density value of the Zn0.88Li0.12O1-δ/BiFeO3 double-layered thin film was 1.90×10−4 A/cm2 at an applied electric field of 100 kV/cm, which was approximately two orders of magnitude lower than that of the BiFeO3 thin film. Moreover, the ferroelectric hysteresis studies revealed a large remnant polarization (2Pr) (11.3 μC/cm2) and a low coercive electric field (307 kV/cm) for the double-layered thin film.