Photovoltaic effect and enhanced magnetization in 0.9(BiFeO3)–0.1(YCrO3) composite thin film fabricated using sequential pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

We report on the photovoltaic effect and multiferroic properties of a 0.9(BiFeO3)–0.1(YCrO3) composite thin film deposited on a Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate by sequential ablation of BiFeO3 and YCrO3 ceramic targets using pulsed laser deposition. The desired composition of the composite was achieved by controlling the ablation time of respective targets. As confirmed by the x-ray diffraction pattern the resultant film was found to be polycrystalline in nature and composed of a mixture of both rhombohedral BiFeO3 and orthorhombic YCrO3 phases. Interesting multiferroic properties in terms of an enhanced saturation magnetization of ∼14 emu cm−3 and the remnant polarization of ∼4.5 µC cm−2 were observed where the enhancement in magnetization as compared to pristine BiFeO3 could be attributed to the super-exchange interaction between Fe and Cr-ions. The photovoltaic properties of the composite thin film were studied under white light illumination in both top–bottom and lateral electrode configurations. Short circuit current densities (JSC) = 1.48 µA cm−2 and 0.44 µA cm−2, and open circuit voltages (VOC) = 0.51 V and 0.32 V were observed in top–bottom and lateral electrode configurations, respectively.