Growth and characterization of epitaxial co-substituted bismuth ferrite thin films on silicon substrates

BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 thin film is a promising candidate for low-power-consumption memory devices with electric voltage writing and magnetic readout capabilities. This study demonstrates successful epitaxial growth of single-crystal BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 thin films on (001)-oriented silicon substrates with SrRuO3/Pt/ZrO2 coated layers using pulsed laser deposition. We investigated the crystal structure, magnetic properties, and ferroelectric and magnetic domain structures of the thin films. The observed multiple leakage-free out-of-plane polarization switches in the as-grown BiFe0.9Co0.1O3 thin films indicate great potential for future applications in silicon-CMOS compatible nonvolatile memory devices.