Characterization of multiferroic Bi1−xEuxFeO3 powders prepared by sol-gel method

Bi1−xEuxFeO3 (BEFO) powders 0≤x≤0.20 were synthesized by sol-gel method. Europium substituted BFO (RE-BFO) materials lead to a change in BiFeO3 crystal structure from rhombohedral to pseudo-cubic symmetry at x=0.20. Transmission electron microscopy investigation was performed to estimate the particle size. Magnetic measurements indicate that BEFO are antiferromagnetic with a small remanant magnetization and show a typical weak ferromagnetic ordering when x=0.20. Photoinduced optical second harmonic generation has shown a high sensitivity to the different phases.