Dielectric behaviors of Aurivillius Bi5Ti3Fe0.5Cr0.5O15 multiferroic polycrystals: Determining the intrinsic magnetoelectric responses by impedance spectroscopy

Bismuth layer ferroelectrics (BLFs) pioneered by Aurivillius about sixty years ago have been revived recently because of the fatigue- and lead-free behaviors and high Curie temperature, and especially the robust magnetoelectric (ME) effect. However, discerning the intrinsic ME nature, and the inherence between charged defect dipole induced relaxation and spin-related behaviors are still an arduous task. Here, we report a quantitative analysis to reveal the intrinsic spin-lattice coupling in Aurivillius Cr-doped Bi(5)Ti(3)FeO(15) (BTFCO) multiferroic polycrystals. Dielectric responses are systemically investigated by the temperature-dependent dielectric, module, impedance spectroscopy and equivalent circuit model, and two different dielectric relaxation processes occurred in grain interior of Aurivillius BTFCO polycrystals are clarified. One relaxation is proposed to associate with localized transfer of electrons between Fe(3+) and Fe(2+) while another one arises from the competition interaction of localized hopping of electrons between Fe(3+) and Fe(2+) and short-range migration of holes between Cr(3+) and Cr(6+). The variation of the intrinsic permittivity unambiguously confirms the coupling between spin and dipolar orderings in BTFCO polycrystals. These results offer a vital avenue for identifying the intrinsic and extrinsic signals of the electric and ME responses, and will give significant impetus to exploring the ME electronic devices of Aurivillius materials.