  In this work multiferroic thin films of Bi containing perovskite oxides are
discussed, where the driving force for ferroelectricity are the Bi3+ lone-pair
electrons. First, a brief introduction of Bi containing multiferroic perovskite
oxides will be presented to describe the mechanisms for establishing magnetic
and ferroelectric order in these compounds and some recent developments in this
field of research are reported. The second section addresses experimental
aspects of epitaxial thin film growth of BiMnO3, (Bi0.9La0.1)2NiMnO6 (BLNMO)
and BiFeO3 thin films by pulsed laser deposition. The third section is
dedicated to the physical properties of such films in terms of structural
characterization and the magnetic and ferroelectric properties and their
correlations in form of magnetoelectric coupling (MEC).
