Optical and Ferroelectric Properties of $${\hbox {Bi}}_{0.95}{\hbox {Gd}}_{0.05}{\hbox {Fe}}_{1-x}{\hbox {Cr}}_{x}{\hbox {O}}_{3}$$Bi0.95Gd0.05Fe1-xCrxO3

In this paper, optical and ferroelectric properties were investigated for gadolinium, \n$${\\hbox {Gd}}^{3+}$$\n\n (5 at.%) and chromium, \n$${\\hbox {Cr}}^{3+}$$\n\n (0–8 at.%) co-doped of BiFeO\n$$_3$$\n\n. Chemical solution deposition (CSD) method was employed as compatible device fabrication technology to synthesize Gd and Cr co-doped multiferroic \n$${\\hbox {BiFeO}}_{3}$$\n\n\n$$({\\hbox {Bi}}_{0.95}{\\hbox {Gd}}_{0.05}{\\hbox {Fe}}_{1-x}{\\hbox {Cr}}_{x}{\\hbox {O}}_{3}$$\n\n with \n$${\\hbox {x}}$$\n\n = 0–0.08). X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed a well-defined crystalline phase with a tendency towards structural change from rhombohedral to orthorhombic symmetry. Crystallite size was found to reduce substantially from 34 to 13.5 nm with increasing the doping concentration of \n$${\\hbox {Cr}}^{3+}$$\n\n. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) demonstrated a significant reduction in grain size of doped \n$${\\hbox {BiFeO}}_{3}$$\n\n compared to un-doped one following the trend obtained from XRD results. Ferroelectric nature of samples was obtained from polarization versus electric field measurements. Improved ferroelectric order was displayed in co-doped \n$${\\hbox {BiFeO}}_{3}$$\n\n with a maximum remnant polarization of 0.23 μ\n$${\\hbox {C}}/{\\hbox {cm}}^2$$\n\n. Diffuse reflectance measurement by UV–Vis–NIR spectroscopy of Gd\n$$^{3+}$$\n\n and \n$${\\hbox {Cr}}^{3+}$$\n\n co-doped \n$${\\hbox {BiFeO}}_{3}$$\n\n has shown a significant reduction in the optical band-gap energy \n$$({\\hbox {E}}_{g})$$\n\n to 1.71 eV compared to 2.03 eV of pure BiFeO\n$$_{3}$$\n\n counterpart.