Structural and magnetic properties in Bi1−xRxFeO3 (x=0–1, R=La, Nd, Sm, Eu and Tb) polycrystalline ceramics

A series of rare-earth doped BiFeO3 samples, Bi1−xRxFeO3 (x=0–1, R=La, Nd, Sm, Eu and Tb), were prepared in this work. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the structure of rare-earth doped BiFeO3 was transformed from rhombohedral lattice to orthorhombic one by increasing x. The lattice constants and unit-cell volume decreased with the increasing of the doping content, while both the Néel temperature and magnetization were enhanced. A magnetic phase transition was observed at about 35 K for BiFeO3. The variation of the magnetization with temperature depended on applied field strength and magnetizing history, which was explained according to the antiferromagnetic exchange interaction between Fe and R sites in Bi1−xRxFeO3(x>0). The magnetocrystalline anisotropy contributed by Fe sublattice gave rise to a large coercivity in BixNd1−xFeO3 with an orthorhombic structure.