BiFeO3 (BFO) multiferroic oxide has a complex phase diagram that can be mapped by using appropriately substrate-induced strain in epitaxial films. By using Raman spectroscopy, we conclusively show that films of the so-called supertetragonal T-BFO phase, stabilized under compressive strain, display a reversible temperature-induced phase transition at about 100 °C, and thus close to room temperature.

We report a Raman scattering investigation of columnar BiFeO 3 -CoFe 2 O 4 (BFO-CFO) epitaxial thin film nanostructures, where BFO pillars are embedded in a CFO matrix. The feasibility of a strain analysis is illustrated through an investigation of two nanostructures with different BFO-CFO ratios. We show that the CFO matrix presents the same strain state in both nanostructures, while the strain state of the BFO pillars depends on the BFO/CFO ratio with an increasing tensile strain along the out-of-plane direction with decreasing BFO content.Our results demonstrate that Raman scattering allows monitoring strain states in complex 3D multiferroic pillar/matrix composites.