| Summary: | A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, Wits University,
in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. 30 March 2016. === Bismuth ferrite BiFeO3 is a transition metal oxide that exhibits both antiferromagnetic
and ferroelectric orderings and is termed a magnetoelectric
multiferroic. These functional properties make it crucial for applications
in various nanoelectronic devices and sensors. However, the integration of
BiFeO3 in devices requires the scaling down of bulk BiFeO3 to nano dimensional
length scales in thin lm format. For this purpose, the elements
of the elastic constant tensor of BiF eO3 thin lms are requisite, especially
in multilayered or single layer-on-substrate device con gurations. It is thus
essential that mechanical properties of BiFeO3 thin lms be established due
to their size and growth mode dependence.
Therefore, the study aims to determine the propagation of the surface acoustic
waves and the elastic constants of BiFeO3 BFO thin lms in order to
tailor the mechanical properties for device applications. In this approach the
e ect of morphology and microstructure on the elastic constants has been
investigated. === MT2016
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