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Electric modulation of conduction in multiferroic Ca-doped BiFeO3 films

Nature Materials volume 8, pages 485–493 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Many interesting materials phenomena such as the emergence of high-Tc superconductivity in the cuprates and colossal magnetoresistance in the manganites arise out of a doping-driven competition between energetically similar ground states. Doped multiferroics present a tantalizing evolution of this generic concept of phase competition. Here, we present the observation of an electronic conductor–insulator transition by control of band-filling in the model antiferromagnetic ferroelectric BiFeO3 through Ca doping. Application of electric field enables us to control and manipulate this electronic transition to the extent that a p–n junction can be created, erased and inverted in this material. A ‘dome-like’ feature in the doping dependence of the ferroelectric transition is observed around a Ca concentration of ∼1/8, where a new pseudo-tetragonal phase appears and the electric modulation of conduction is optimized. Possible mechanisms for the observed effects are discussed on the basis of the interplay of ionic and electronic conduction. This observation opens the door to merging magnetoelectrics and magnetoelectronics at room temperature by combining electronic conduction with electric and magnetic degrees of freedom already present in the multiferroic BiFeO3.

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Figure 1: Structural characterization of the Ca-doping effect on BiFeO3 films.
Figure 2: Electric-field-driven phase transition between a ferroelectric, insulating state and a conducting state.
Figure 3: Local current (I)–voltage (V) characteristics.
Figure 4: Reproducing the electronic conduction switching in ultrahigh vacuum c-AFM measurement and in the conventional capacitor geometry.
Figure 5: The mechanism of the electronic conduction switching.
Figure 6: Controlling oxygen vacancy concentration in-plane.

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Acknowledgements

The work is supported by the Director, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences Division of the US Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. C.-H.Y. would like to acknowledge the Korea Research Foundation Grant funded by the Korean Government (MOEHRD). (KRF-2006-214-C00020) J.S. acknowledges support from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Y.H.C. would like to acknowledge the support of the National Science Council, R.O.C., under Contract No NSC 97-3114-M-009-001. A portion of this research was carried out as a user project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, sponsored by the Scientific User Facilities Division, BES, US DOE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

    C.-H. Yang, J. Seidel, P. Yu, M. Gajek, M. B. Holcomb, Q. He & R. Ramesh

  2. Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California 94720, USA

    J. Seidel, L. W. Martin, M. B. Holcomb & R. Ramesh

  3. Department of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

    S. Y. Kim, P. B. Rossen, L. W. Martin, N. Balke, S. R. Basu, M. L. Scullin & R. Ramesh

  4. Department of Material Science and Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, HsinChu 30010, Taiwan

    Y. H. Chu

  5. Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee 37831, USA

    P. Maksymovych, N. Balke, S. V. Kalinin & A. P. Baddorf

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Yang, CH., Seidel, J., Kim, S. et al. Electric modulation of conduction in multiferroic Ca-doped BiFeO3 films. Nature Mater 8, 485–493 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2432

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