Preparation of Nd-doped BiFeO3 films and their electrical properties

The Nd-doped BiFeO3 thin films were prepared on SnO2(FTO) substrates spin-coated by the sol–gel method using Nd(NO3)3·6H2O, Fe(NO3)3·9H2O and Bi(NO3)3·5H2O as raw materials. The microstructure and electric properties of the BiFeO3 thin films were characterized and tested. The results indicate that the diffraction peak of the Nd-doped BiFeO3 films is shifted towards right as the doping amounts are increased. The structure is transformed from the rhombohedral to pseudotetragonal phase. The crystal grain is changed from an elliptical to irregular polyhedron. Structure transition occurring in the Bi0.85Nd0.15FeO3 films gives rise to the largest Pr of 64 μC/cm2. The leakage conductance of the Nd doped thin films is reduced. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of Bi0.85Nd0.15FeO3 thin film at 10 kHz are 190 and 0.017 respectively.