BiFeO 3 thin films were epitaxially grown on (001) GaAs substrate by pulsed laser deposition with Nb doped SrTiO 3 as a buffer layer. Piezoresponse force microscopy images exhibit effective ferroelectric switching of the heterostructure. The temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics of the heterostructure reveal a resistance switching phenomenon and diode-like behavior with a rectifying ratio of 2 Â 10 2 at the applied voltage of 613.4 V. The electrical transport mechanism in the heterostructure has been illustrated by constructing the energy band structure. In addition, the resistance switching behavior in the heterostructure could be explained by the polarization modulation of the depletion region at the interface of the semiconductor and the ferroelectric layers.

Articles you may be interested in Finite size effects in ferroelectric-semiconductor thin films under open-circuit electric boundary conditions The size effects of 0.8SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9-0.2Bi 3 TiNbO 9 thin films, prepared by metalorganic deposition technique, were studied by determining how the ferroelectric properties vary with film thickness and grain size. It was found that the ferroelectric properties were determined by the grain size, and not by the thickness of the film in our studied thickness range of 80-500 nm. A 80 nm thick film showed good ferroelectric properties similar to the 500 nm thick film. The possible mechanisms for the size effects in SBT-BTN films are discussed.