LAUSR

Abstract A magnetodielectric study of multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) was conducted to provide new insights into the interactions between the dielectric and magnetic properties. BiFeO3 was synthesized by high-energy ball milling for 5 h, followed by annealing at 600 °C. X-ray diffraction showed the presence of the bismuth ferrite phase together with small amounts of the secondary phase, mullite (Bi2Fe4O9). Vibration sample magnetometry (VSM) confirmed the antiferromagnetic behavior ascribed to the bismuth ferrite. LCR (Inductance, capacitance and resistance) analysis demonstrated space charge polarization behavior, and a magnetodielectric study revealed magnetically induced changes in the interfacial polarization's relaxation frequency in a frequency range of 100 Hz to 5· × 106 Hz that were attributed to the switching of the ferroelectric domains in the bismuth ferrite. The detection and mechanism of these frequency dispersion changes are discussed in detail.