Reduced leakage in epitaxial BiFeO3 films following oxygen radio frequency plasma treatment

Abstract

Epitaxial BiFeO3 (BFO) films were deposited using pulsed laser deposition method. The prepared films were characterized using x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, ferroelectric loop tracer, and leakage current measurements before and after oxygen plasma treatment. The leakage current of the films, a crucial parameter in device applications, is observed to be reduced by two orders of magnitude with oxygen plasma treatment at room temperature. P-E hysteresis loops were observed in oxygen plasma treated BFO films. The observed results indicate the usefulness of oxygen radio frequency plasma treatment (RF 13.56 MHz), which is an effective and low temperature processing technique, in such lossy ferroelectric thin films.