Structural, Magnetic and Electric Characteristics of Multiferroic CoFe₂O₄/BNEuT Composite Thin Films Produced by Non-aqueous Sol-gel Process

Abstract

Ferromagnetic cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) thin films for magnetoelectric multiferroic applications were synthesized on (Bi_3.25Nd_0.65Eu_0.10)Ti₃O₁₂/Nb:TiO₂ substrates at reaction temperatures of 140-190°C using a non-aqueous sol-gel process. The magnetic properties of the films were measured, and the sample synthesized at 180°C was found to exhibit the highest residual magnetization and coercivity of 1.5 emu/g and 134 Oe, respectively. The ferroelectric properties of all samples were similar, with a large remanent polarization of 58-67 μC/cm² and a coercive field of 421-462 kV/cm, regardless of the reaction temperature. Based on its magnetic and ferroelectric properties, the sample synthesized at 180°C has potential as a practical multiferroic material.