YIG: Bi2O3 Nanocomposite Thin Films for Magnetooptic and Microwave Applications

Y3Fe5O12-Bi2O3 composite 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 Y3Fe5O12 and Bi2O3 sputtering targets during the cosputtering deposition processes. The measured material properties of oven-annealed YIG-Bi2O3 films indicate that cosputtering of YIG-Bi2O3 composites 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 degrees/mu m at 532 nm), achieved simultaneously with low optical losses in the visible range and very narrow peak-to-peak ferromagnetic resonance linewidth of around Delta H-pp=6.1Oe at 9.77GHz.