Ferroelectric domains and phase transition of sol-gel processed epitaxial Sm-doped BiFeO3 (001) thin films

BiFeO3, a room-temperature multiferroic material, has recently been increasingly applied as a potential lead-free piezoelectric material due to its large piezoelectricity achieved by doping. In this work, 12% Sm-doped BiFeO3 epitaxial thin films were fabricated on Nb-doped SrTiO3 (001) single crystal substrates via sol-gel method. The epitaxy was verified by reciprocal space mapping (RSM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The TEM results indicated the coexistence of R3c and Pbam phases in the film. The domains and piezoelectric properties from room temperature to 200 °C were characterized by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). Domains became active from 110 °C to 170 °C, and domain configurations changed obviously. A partially fading piezoresponse indicated the emergence of antiferroelectric Pbam. The in-situ domain analysis suggested that the phase transition was accompanied by domain wall motion. Switching spectroscopy PFM (SS-PFM) was further conducted to investigate the piezoresponse during the phase transition. Anomalous responses were found in both ON and OFF states at 170 °C, and the film exhibits typical antiferroelectric behavior at 200 °C, implying that the completion of phase transition and structure turned to the Pbam phase. This work revealed the origin of the high piezoresponse of Sm-doped BiFeO3 thin films at the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB)