Progress in BiFeO3-based heterostructures: materials, properties and applications

Abstract

BiFeO₃-based heterostructures have attracted much attention for potential applications due to their room-temperature multiferroic properties, proper band gaps and ultrahigh ferroelectric polarization of BiFeO₃, such as data storage, optical utilization in visible light regions and synapse-like function. Here, this work aims to offer a systematic review on the progress of BiFeO₃-based heterostructures. In the first part, the optical, electric, magnetic, and valley properties and their interactions in BiFeO₃-based heterostructures are briefly reviewed. In the second part, the morphologies of BiFeO₃ and medium materials in the heterostructures are discussed. Particularly, in the third part, the physical properties and underlying mechanism in BiFeO₃-based heterostructures are discussed thoroughly, such as the photovoltaic effect, electric field control of magnetism, resistance switching, and two-dimensional electron gas and valley characteristics. The fourth part illustrates the applications of BiFeO₃-based heterostructures based on the materials and physical properties discussed in the second and third parts. This review also includes a future prospect, which can provide guidance for exploring novel physical properties and designing multifunctional devices.