Influence of Zn doping on structural, optical and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 films fabricated by the sol-gel technique

The multiferroic BiFe1−xZnxO3 (BFZOx, x=0, 0.03, 0.06, and 0.09) films have been prepared on quartz substrates by the sol-gel technique. X-ray diffraction indicates that BFZOx films characterize the distorted rhombohedral perovskite structure. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows that Zn doping can improve the crystallinity of BFZOx (x=0.06 and 0.09) films. With increasing Zn composition, the fundamental absorption edges of BFZOx films show blue shift. Compared with BiFeO3 film, the saturation magnetization (Ms) of BFZOx (x=0.03, 0.06, and 0.09) films is significantly enhanced, which provides potential applications in information storage.