  The influence of La and Nd co-substitution on the structural and magnetic
properties of BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films was examined. Epitaxial thin films of
pure and, La and Nd co-doped BFO on the SrRuO3 buffered single crystal SrTiO3
(001) substrate were deposited using pulsed laser deposition. The structural
change in co doped La and Nd BFO thin films which was caused by the changes of
force constant in the crystal lattice induced by ionic radii mismatch was
investigated. Raman spectroscopy studies manifest the structural change in
doped BFO films from rhombohedral to monoclinic distorted phase which is
induced by the co substitution of La and Nd. Room temperature magnetic
hysteresis curves indicated that saturation magnetization is enhanced in the
doped film with saturation magnetization of ~20 emu/cm3. The dielectric and
magnetic properties are effectively improved in BLNFO films compared to pure
BFO thin films.
