Grating-patterned Bi0.85La0.15Fe0.95Mn0.05O3 epitaxial thin film prepared using photosensitive sol-gel method and its ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties

Bi0.85La0.15Fe0.95Mn0.05O3 (BLFMO) gel films with benzoylacetone (BzAc) as a chelating reagent were fabricated on (00l) LaAlO3 (LAO) substrates using a photosensitive sol-gel method. The morphology, crystalline structure, electric and magnetic properties, and the grating-pattern of the films were investigated. The results showed that the epitaxial BLFMO films deposited on LAO single crystal substrates exhibit a higher degree of the c-axis orientation. The remnant polarization and saturation magnetization were found to be higher than those of the randomly oriented BLFMO films. Moreover, the gratings of the film with a period of 1 μm were obtained after exposure to two interference laser beams followed by leaching in ethanol. After treatment at 600 °C, the gel film turned into inorganic film gratings.