Pulsed laser deposition has been used to grow thin (10–84 nm) epitaxial layers of Yttrium Iron Garnet Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) on (111)–oriented Gadolinium Gallium Garnet substrates at different growth conditions. Atomic force microscopy showed flat surface morphology both on micrometer and nanometer scales. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed that the films are coherent with the substrate in the interface plane. The interplane distance in the [111] direction was found to be by 1.2% larger than expected for YIG stoichiometric pseudomorphic film indicating presence of rhombohedral distortion in this direction. Polar Kerr effect and ferromagnetic resonance measurements showed existence of additional magnetic anisotropy, which adds to the demagnetizing field to keep magnetization vector in the film plane. The origin of the magnetic anisotropy is related to the strain in YIG films observed by XRD. Magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements revealed important role of magnetization rotation during magnetization reversal. An unusual fine structure of microwave magnetic resonance spectra has been observed in the film grown at reduced (0.5 mTorr) oxygen pressure. Surface spin wave propagation has been demonstrated in the in-plane magnetized films.

Thin (4–20 nm) yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) layers have been grown on gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) 111-oriented substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy in 700–1000 °C growth temperature range. The layers were found to have atomically flat step-and-terrace surface morphology with step height of 1.8 Å characteristic for YIG(111) surface. As the growth temperature is increased from 700 to 1000 °C the terraces become wider and the growth gradually changes from layer by layer to step-flow regime. Crystal structure studied by electron and X-ray diffraction showed that YIG lattice is co-oriented and laterally pseudomorphic to GGG with small rhombohedral distortion present perpendicular to the surface. Measurements of magnetic moment, magneto-optical polar and longitudinal Kerr effect (MOKE), and X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) were used for study of magnetization reversal for different orientations of magnetic field. These methods and ferromagnetic resonance studies have shown that in zero magnetic field magnetization lies in the film plane due to both shape and induced anisotropies. Vectorial MOKE studies have revealed the presence of an in-plane easy magnetization axis. In-plane magnetization reversal was shown to occur through combination of reversible rotation and abrupt irreversible magnetization jump, the latter caused by domain wall nucleation and propagation. The field at which the flip takes place depends on the angle between the applied magnetic field and the easy magnetization axis and can be described by the modified Stoner–Wohlfarth model taking into account magnetic field dependence of the domain wall energy. Magnetization curves of individual tetrahedral and octahedral magnetic Fe3+ sublattices were studied by XMCD.

Synthesis of nanosized yttrium iron garnet (Y3Fe5O12, YIG) films followed by the study of ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) and spin wave propagation in these films is reported. The YIG films were grown on gadolinium gallium garnet substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy. It has been shown that spin waves propagating in YIG deposited at 700 °C have low damping. At the frequency of 3.29 GHz, the spin-wave damping parameter is less than 3.6 × 10−5. Magnetic inhomogeneities of the YIG films give the main contribution to the FMR linewidth. The contribution of the relaxation processes to the FMR linewidth is as low as 1.2%.

The temperature-frequency behaviour of the permimivily d(T, f) and m[S(T. f)] (20-300 K, 120 Hz-9 MHz), EPR, optical absorption and luminescence of KTaO3, nominally pure and weakly doped (0.1 ~1 % Li: 0.01 wt% Cr; 3 wt% Cu; I wi% Fe; 0.1 wt% Li+O.l wt% CI and 0.1 wt% L i t 0 . l wt% Crt0.02 wt% Cu) were studied. Below 70 K, in all doped samples, dielecuic dispersion CCCUIS, with m[S(T)l maxima positions obeying rhc universal Arhenius law with activation energy A = 1000 * 50 K. This is associared with local ordering in the dipoledipole Clusters containing reorienting defect pairs of various kinds, with correlations due to interaction via t h e m soft mode.

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