Zhenghu Zuo

Effect of top electrodes on photovoltaic properties of polycrystalline BiFeO3 based thin film capacitors

We investigated capacitors based on polycrystalline narrow-band-gap BiFeO(3) (BFO) thin films with different top electrodes. The photovoltaic response for the capacitor with a Sn-doped In(2)O(3) (ITO) top electrode is about 25 times higher than that with a Au top electrode, which indicates that the electrode plays a key role in determining the photovoltaic response of ferroelectric thin film capacitors, as simulated by Qin et al (2009 Appl. Phys. Lett. 95 22912). The light-to-electricity photovoltaic efficiency for the ITO/polycrystalline BFO/Pt capacitor can reach 0.125%. Furthermore, under incident light of 450 µW cm(-2) and zero bias, the corresponding photocurrent varies from 0.2 to 200 pA, that is, almost a 1000-fold photoconductivity enhancement. Our experiments suggest that polycrystalline BFO films are promising materials for application in photo-sensitive and energy-related devices.

Tunable photovoltaic effects in transparent Pb(Zr0.53,Ti0.47)O3 capacitors

We report an investigation on optical, ferroelectric, and photovoltaic properties of transparent Sn-doped In2O3 (ITO)/Pb(Zr0.53,Ti0.47)O3 (PZT)/ITO thin film capacitors. The ferroelectric PZT sandwiched structures grown on glass substrates exhibit a transmittance of 65% in the visible light range. The current-voltage characteristics show that the transparent PZT capacitors possess a significant photovoltaic response under a light illumination. Moreover, the photovoltaic response can be well tuned by an external electrical field, which can be understood by considering the tunable depolarized field in the PZT capacitors.

Microstructure dependence of leakage and resistive switching behaviours in Ce-doped BiFeO3 thin films

The leakage current and resistive switching (RS) of Ce-doped BiFeO3 (BCFO) films prepared by the sol–gel method at various annealing temperatures are investigated. With increasing annealing temperature, BCFO changes from an amorphous structure to a crystalline structure, while the leakage current increases due to an increase in the carrier mobility as well as an increase in the oxygen vacancy concentration. Bipolar RS behaviours are observed in BCFO films, which can be attributed to the formation/rupture of metal filaments due to the diffusion of the top electrodes under a bias voltage. With increasing annealing temperature, the forming voltage decreases, while no obvious changes are observed in resistances in both ON and OFF states and programming voltages, demonstrating that the RS occurs in a confined region. The pristine BCFO shows Schottky emission conduction behaviour, while Ohmic conduction and space charge limited conduction dominate in ON and OFF states, respectively.

Positive temperature coefficient of magnetic anisotropy in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)-based magnetic composites

The magnetic anisotropy is decreased with increasing temperature in normal magnetic materials, which is harmful to the thermal stability of magnetic devices. Here, we report the realization of positive temperature coefficient of magnetic anisotropy in a novel composite combining β-phase polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) with magnetostrictive materials (magnetostrictive film/PVDF bilayer structure). We ascribe the enhanced magnetic anisotropy of the magnetic film at elevated temperature to the strain-induced anisotropy resulting from the anisotropic thermal expansion of the β-phase PVDF. The simulation based on modified Stoner-Wohlfarth model and the ferromagnetic resonance measurements confirms our results. The positive temperature coefficient of magnetic anisotropy is estimated to be 1.1 × 102 J m−3 K−1. Preparing the composite at low temperature can enlarge the temperature range where it shows the positive temperature coefficient of magnetic anisotropy. The present results may help to design magnetic devices with improved thermal stability and enhanced performance.

Static and high frequency magnetic properties of FeGa thin films deposited on convex flexible substrates

In this study, we provided an approach of pre-strained growth to significantly enhance the FMR frequency of magnetic films. A series of 100 nm magnetostrictive FeGa films were grown on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates which were bowed onto the convex molds with different curvature radii. When the FeGa films were flatten to a plane, they were suffered a compressive strain arisen from the shaped substrates. As shown in Figs . 1(a) and 1(b), the FeGa films exhibit a remarkable uniaxial anisotropy perpendicular to the compressive strain. The strength of magnetic anisotropy is enhanced with increasing the compressive strain from 0 to 0 .78%. The permeability spectra measured in the frequency range from 0 .5 to 8 GHz are shown in Figs . 1(c) and 1(d). With the increase of the compressive-strain induced magnetic anisotropy, the initial permeability μi of the FeGa films inconspicuously decreases, while the FMR frequency shifts toward the higher values. In order to quantitatively understanding the effect of strain on the dynamic properties of the FeGa thin films, the experimentally obtained permeability spectra can be fitted by using the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) theory.

Effect of NiO inserted layer on spin-Hall magnetoresistance in Pt/NiO/YIG heterostructures

We investigate spin-current transport with an antiferromagnetic insulator NiO thin layer by means of the spin-Hall magnetoresistance (SMR) over a wide range of temperature in Pt/NiO/Y3Fe5O12 (Pt/NiO/YIG) heterostructures. The SMR signal is comparable to that without the NiO layer as long as the temperature is near or above the blocking temperature of the NiO, indicating that the magnetic fluctuation of the insulating NiO is essential for transmitting the spin current from the Pt to YIG layer. On the other hand, the SMR signal becomes negligibly small at low temperature, and both conventional anisotropic magnetoresistance and the anomalous Hall resistance are extremely small at any temperature, implying that the insertion of the NiO has completely suppressed the Pt magnetization induced by the YIG magnetic proximity effect (MPE). The dual roles of the thin NiO layer are, to suppress the magnetic interaction or MPE between Pt and YIG, and to maintain efficient spin current transmission at high temperature.

Effect of buffer layer and external stress on magnetic properties of flexible FeGa films

We systematically investigated the effect of a Ta buffer layer and external stress on the magnetic properties of magnetostrictive Fe81Ga19 films deposited on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. The Ta buffer layers could effectively smoothen the rough surface of PET. As a result, the FeGa films grown on Ta buffer layers exhibit a weaker uniaxial magnetic anisotropy and lower coercivity, as compared to those films directly grown on PET substrates. By inward and outward bending the FeGa/Ta/PET samples, external in-plane compressive and tensile stresses were applied to the magnetic films. Due to the inverse magnetostrictive effect of FeGa, both the coercivity and squareness of hysteresis loops for FeGa/Ta films could be well tuned under various strains.

Controllable strain-induced uniaxial anisotropy of Fe81Ga19 films deposited on flexible bowed-substrates

We propose a convenient method to induce a uniaxial anisotropy in magnetostrictive Fe81Ga19 films grown on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates by bending the substrate prior to deposition. A tensile/compressive stress is induced in the Fe81Ga19 films when PET substrates are shaped from concave/convex to flat after deposition. The stressed Fe81Ga19 films exhibit a significant uniaxial magnetic anisotropy due to the internal stress arising from changes in shape of PET substrates. The easy axis is along the tensile stress direction and the coercive field along easy axis is increased with increasing the internal tensile stress. The remanence of hard axis is decreased with increasing the compressive stress, while the coercive field is almost unchanged. A modified Stoner-Wohlfarth model with considering the distribution of easy axes in polycrystalline films is used to account for the magnetic properties tuned by the strain-controlled magnetoelastic anisotropy in flexible Fe81Ga19 films. Our inv...

Effect of mechanical strain on magnetic properties of flexible exchange biased FeGa/IrMn heterostructures

We have fabricated flexible exchange biased heterostructures with magnetostrictive Fe81Ga19 alloy as the ferromagnetic layer and Ir20Mn80 as the antiferromagnetic layer on polyethylene terephthalate substrates. The mechanical strain can modify both the strength and the orientation of the uniaxial anisotropy, giving rise to the switching between the easy and hard magnetization directions. Different from the previously reported works on rigid exchange biased systems, a drastic decrease in exchange bias field was observed under a compressive strain with magnetic field parallel to the pinning direction, but only a slightly decrease was shown under a tensile strain. Based on a Stoner-Wohlfarth model calculation, we suggested that the distributions of both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic anisotropies be the key to induce the mechanically tunable exchange bias.

In-plane anisotropic converse magnetoelectric coupling effect in FeGa/polyvinylidene fluoride heterostructure films

We investigated the converse magnetoelectric (CME) effect in the Fe81Ga19/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) heterostructure films. A weak in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy was observed in the as-deposited magnetostrictive FeGa films. When a positive (negative) electric field is applied on the ferroelectric PVDF substrates, both the coercivity and the squareness of magnetic hysteresis loops of FeGa films for the magnetic field parallel to the easy axis become larger (smaller), but for the magnetic field parallel to the hard axis the coercivity and the remanence get smaller (larger), indicating an anisotropic CME effect in FeGa/PVDF heterostructure films.