Recent developments in the growth and characterization of epitaxial Bi2FeCrO6 thin films were reported. The body of experimental data permitted an explanation of the origin of the thickness dependence of the multiferroic properties observed. A drastic reduction of film magnetization was observed for film thicknesses larger than 80nm. This decrease in magnetization was attributed to the formation of defects, such as antisites and antiphase boundaries, in the Bi2FeCrO6 films. The change in magnetization was accompanied by a Bi2FeCrO6 cell expansion, a consequence of the volume increase of the oxygen octahedra surrounding the Fe cations induced by the defects. The Bi2FeCrO6 films were ferroelectric for all the thicknesses investigated, ferroelectricity being only moderately affected by the film thickness.

Multiferroic Properties-Structure Relationships in Epitaxial Bi2FeCrO6 Thin Films - Recent Developments. R.Nechache, C.Harnagea, A.Pignolet: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2012, 24[9], 096001