Defect control for polarization switching in BiFeO3 single crystals

BiFeO
₃
(BFO) single crystals were grown and the effects of Zn and Mn co-doping on the polarization and leakage current properties were investigated at 25°C for establishing materials design based on defect chemistry. Although Zn doping or Mn doping led to a deterioration in the properties, Zn-Mn co-doping led to a large remanent polarization (36 μC/cm
²
), a low coercive field (19 kV/cm), and a relatively low leakage current density (~10
^-8
A/cm
²
). It is proposed that defect dipoles composed of Zn
²⁺
and Mn
⁴⁺
act as effective nucleation sites for ferroelectric domains during polarization switching in BFO crystals.