Effect of Ho and Mn co-doping on structural, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO3 thin films

• The enhanced ferroelectricity is obtained for Ho, Mn co-doped BiFeO3 thin films.
• The enhanced ferromagnetism is obtained for Ho, Mn co-doped BiFeO3 thin films.
• The enhanced multiferroic properties are attributed to the structural transition.

Multiferroic pure, Ho doped, Mn doped, as well as Ho, Mn co-doped BiFeO3 thin films were prepared using a sol–gel technique. The effect of Ho and Mn co-doping on the structure, ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO3 films was studied in detail. It shows that the enhanced ferroelectric polarization and magnetization were obtained after doping Ho and Mn. Such enhanced ferroelectric properties are attributed to ferroelectric distortion derived from the structural transformation and microstructure improvement after doping Ho and Mn. The enhanced ferromagnetic properties are attributed to the uncompensated surface spins and the release of the latent magnetization locked within the cycloid induced by doping Ho and Mn. The present work provides an easy method to enhance the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of BiFeO3 based magnetoelectric multiferroic films.