BiFeO3/La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 heterostructures deposited on spark plasma sintered LaAlO3 substrates

Multiferroic BiFeO3 (BFO)/La0.7Sr 0.3MnO3 heterostructured thin films were grown by pulsed laser deposition on polished spark plasma sintered LaAlO3 (LAO) polycrystalline substrates. Both polycrystalline LAO substrates and BFO films were locally characterized using electron backscattering diffraction, which confirmed the high-quality local epitaxial growth on each substrate grain. Piezoforce microscopy was used to image and switch the piezo-domains, and the results are consistent with the relative orientation of the ferroelectric variants with the surface normal. This high-throughput synthesis process opens the routes towards wide survey of electronic properties as a function of crystalline orientation in complex oxide thin film synthesis. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.