Pr-doped BiFeO₃ thin films growth on quartz using chemical solution deposition

Abstract Bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) is an interesting multiferroic material due to its ferroelectric properties at room temperature. In this study, Bi1−x Pr x FeO3 and BiFeO3 films were grown on quartz substrates by the chemical solution deposition method at 600oC of annealing temperature. Variation in molar concentration in Bi1−x Pr x FeO3 was set (x = 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.2) to investigate their crystal structure and optical characteristics. BiFeO3 and Bi1−x Pr x FeO3 films were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet (UV)-vis spectrophotometer. The XRD results demonstrated that the addition of Pr in BiFeO3 shifted the diffraction angle to smaller angles so that it reduced their lattice constant. Besides, the crystal size declined with more Pr numbers, while the lattice strain expanded. The UV-vis characteristics of the films were measured in the wavelength range of 200–800 nm. The transmittance values of the Pr-doped BiFeO3 increased. Because of Pr doping, the refractive index of the Bi1−x Pr x FeO3 films decreased while the energy dispersion increased.