An investigation of elastic and attenuation properties of Gd-doped multiferroic bismuth ferrites

A series of Gadolinium-doped Bismuth ferrites, with the compositional formula, Bi${}_{1-x}$Gd${}_x$FeO${}_3$ (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20) were prepared by the solid-state reaction method. X-ray diffraction studies were used to investigate the materials structurally and all the samples are found to have a single phase. The morphological studies were carried out by the scanning electronic microscope technique. Immersion method, which is well known for measuring the bulk density of solids, has been used for measuring the same. The pulse transmission procedure was adapted to measure the ultrasonic velocity of all the samples. Subsequently, the elastic moduli were calculated by using ultrasonic velocities. The Mackenzie's method was used to correct the elastic moduli to their zero porosity counterparts. The enhancement of elastic moduli by increasing the percentage of doping is disclosed effectively. Finally, the ultrasonic attenuation coefficients were also calculated and are found to vary with varying porosity values.