Extraordinary role of Nd3+ doping on high temperature stable multiferroic and magneto electric properties of Bi1-xNdxFeO3-Bi2Fe4O9/Sr1-xCaxTiO3 dual phase ceramic composite

Abstract

The Bi1-xNdxFeO3-Bi2Fe4O9/Sr1-xCaxTiO3 (BNFO-SCT) ceramic material displays multiferroic properties after being synthesized via using both the traditional solid-state method and the mechanical alloying technique. Nd3+ was added to the BNFO-SCT as a dopant, and the effects on the microstructure, dielectric characteristics, ferroelectric properties, and piezoelectric properties were examined using a variety of analytical techniques. With addition of Nd3+ dopants in BNFO-SCT, a two-phase structure that changed from rhombohedral perovskite (R3c) to triclinic (P1) and a significant increase in dielectric properties were observed. The remnant polarization, coercive electric field, and magnetocapacitance coefficient showed notable enhancement with increasing Nd3+ doping (x) up to 0.6, thereafter, all these properties began to decrease. Moreover, the leakage current of the BNFO-SCT material decreased with higher Nd3+ content. Interestingly, the dielectric properties at room temperature exhibited a substantial increase when subjected to an applied magnetic field.