Determination of initial magnetic permeability of YIG thin films using the current sheet method

A new technique of inductive measure to determine the initial magnetic permeability (mu(r)) of Yttrium Iron Garnet (YIG) thin films has been conceived and developed in our laboratory. The magnetic material is deposited by radio-frequency sputtering between two copper thin layers on alumina substrate. Because the as-deposited films are amorphous and non magnetic, thermal annealing is necessary to make the films crystallize and to obtain satisfactory magnetic properties. After different tests considering the geometrical, morphological and magnetic properties, we have established a protocol permitting to manufacture a prototype in an original design. The performance of the fabricated micro-inductor has been checked using a physical-chemistry characterization. To obtain accurate measurements, we have used a four-point probe test bench and a precision LCR meter. The current sheet method has been validated with thick layers of commercial YIG. The results obtained for thick and thin films of YIG have been compared to the simulation and theoretical ones. Several tests, made for different thickness and different number of loops, have permitted us to evaluate the magnetic permeability of YIG thin films to 32 +/- 4.