Dr. Carlos Gumiel, Researcher, Departamento de Electrónica Física de ETSI Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain

Title: Application of an aqueous solution-gel deposition methodology to the sustainable preparation of thin film composites in the multiferroic BiFeO₃-Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ system

Abstract: Multiferroic composites with a high volume of interfaces between the different materials represent a more feasible alternative to single phase systems in which the multifunctional response is usually hampered due to intrinsic physical constraints. Accordingly thin film composites of different candidate systems are now being produced by applying deposition techniques such as PLD, CVD, MBE or the like, which allow a high degree of crystallographic control. However, despite their effectiveness, all these techniques also involve a high consumption of energy in terms of temperature and/or vacuum. Within this frame we have investigated the application of a sustainable chemical solution deposition process to prepare thin films of the multiferroic BiFeO₃–Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ composite system. More specifically an aqueous solution-gel plus spin coating methodology is employed which also avoids the organic solvents typically used in a conventional sol–gel method, so further keeping an eye on the environmentally friendly conditions. The obtained results demonstrate how by systematically controlling the processing parameters it is possible to obtain thin film composites with a promising 3-3 type connectivity at temperatures as low as 600 ◦C.