Bandgap of Epitaxial Single-Crystal BiFe1−xMnxO3 Films Grown Directly on SrTiO3/Si(001)
We report the growth and optical characterization of single-crystal BiFe<sub>1-x</sub>Mn<sub>x</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin films directly on SrTiO<sub>3</sub>/Si(001) substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. X-ray diffraction confirmed epitaxial growth, film crystallinity, and sharp interface quality. Scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy verified uniform film morphology and successful Mn incorporation. Spectroscopic ellipsometry revealed a systematic bandgap reduction with increasing Mn concentration, from 2.7 eV in BiFeO<sub>3</sub> to 2.58 eV in BiFe<sub>0.74</sub>Mn<sub>0.26</sub>O<sub>3</sub>, consistent with previous reports on Mn-doped BiFeO<sub>3</sub>. These findings highlight the potential of BiFe<sub>1</sub>₋<sub>x</sub>Mn<sub>x</sub>O<sub>3</sub> films for bandgap engineering, advancing their integration into silicon-compatible multifunctional optoelectronic and photovoltaic applications.
Authors
- S. Lindsey
- Ryan Cottier
- John Miracle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9283-9652)
- Nikoleta Theodoropoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4722-3389)
- Samuel R. Cantrell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5652-1794)
Institutions
- Texas State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Materials
- Published
- 2025-04-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18092022
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Multiferroics and related materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.85
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Defense