Improved Red Photoluminescence and Ferroelectricity in Layered Composite (Bi,Eu)₄Ti₃O₁₂/ZnO Thin Films

Abstract

We report on the improved red emission and ferroelectricity of three layered composite (Bi,Eu)4Ti3O12 (BEuT)/ZnO thin films prepared by chemical solution deposition. The introduction of a ZnO layer leads to the enhanced crystallization and the change in preferential orientation of the BEuT layer. All the composite films showed stronger red photoluminescence than pure BEuT thin films. The addition of a ZnO layer also greatly influenced the ferroelectricity of the composite thin films. A well-defined polarization-electric field hysteresis loop can be observed in the BEuT/ZnO composite films.