YIG: Bi2O3Nanocomposite Thin Films for Magnetooptic and Microwave Applications

Abstract

Y3Fe5O12-Bi2O3composite thin films are deposited onto Gd3Ga5O12(GGG) substrates and their annealing crystallization regimes are optimized (in terms of both process temperatures and durations) to obtain high-quality thin film layers possessing magnetic properties attractive for a range of technological applications. The amount of bismuth oxide content introduced into these nanocomposite-type films is controlled by adjusting the RF power densities applied to both Y3Fe5O12and Bi2O3sputtering targets during the cosputtering deposition processes. The measured material properties of oven-annealed YIG-Bi2O3films indicate that cosputtering of YIG-Bi2O3composites can provide the flexibility of application-specific YIG layers fabrication of interest for several existing, emerging, and also frontier technologies. Experimental results demonstrate large specific Faraday rotation (of more than 1°/µm at 532 nm), achieved simultaneously with low optical losses in the visible range and very narrow peak-to-peak ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of around ΔHpp= 6.1 Oe at 9.77 GHz.