Chemical solution synthesis and ferromagnetic resonance of epitaxial thin films of yttrium iron garnet

Abstract

We report the fabrication of epitaxial Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 (YIG) thin films on Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 (111) using a chemical solution method. Cubic YIG is a ferrimagnetic material at room temperature, with excellent magneto-optical properties, high electrical resistivity, and a very narrow ferromagnetic resonance, which makes it particularly suitable for applications in filters and resonators at microwave frequencies. But these properties depend on the precise stoichiometry and distribution of Fe 3+ ions among the octahedral/tetrahedral sites of a complex structure, which hampered the production of high-quality YIG thin films by affordable chemical methods. Here we report the chemical solution synthesis of YIG thin films, with excellent chemical, crystalline, and magnetic homogeneity. The films show a very narrow ferromagnetic resonance (long spin relaxation time), comparable to that obtained from highvacuum physical deposition methods. These results demonstrate that chemical methods can compete to develop nanometer-thick YIG films with the quality required for spintronic devices and other high-frequency applications.

Polymer assisted deposition of epitaxial oxide thin films

“…The synthesis of epitaxial thin-films (≈15 nm) of YIG was also recently reported by PAD. 116 The slow growth of the films in quasi-equilibrium conditions produce an excellent chemical, crystalline and magnetic homogeneity. As a result, a narrow ferromagnetic resonance (long spin relaxation time), has been reported in YIG grown by PAD.…”

Low damping and microstructural perfection of sub-40nm-thin yttrium iron garnet films grown by liquid phase epitaxy

“…(ii) Magnetron sputtered YIG usually yields wider FMR linewidths, and inhomogeneous line broadening is frequently observed [37][38][39][40]. (iii) For large-scale, low-cost chemical solution techniques, such as spin coating, strongly broadened FMR linewidths and increased Gilbert damping parameters were reported [41,42]. (iv) Liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) from high-temperature solutions (flux melts), is a wellestablished technique.…”

Spontaneous cationic ordering in chemical-solution-grown La2CoMnO6 double perovskite thin films

“…As a chemical solution route, PAD provides an attractive opportunity to grow films close to thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The characteristic growth conditions of PAD have already been shown to be advantageous for the stabilization of materials with complex structures or chemical composition, such as misfit cobalt oxides 29 and Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 yttrium iron garnet 30 . On the other hand, PAD might also be useful to clarify the role of structural strain in stimulating spontaneous cationic ordering because it has been shown that structural strain accommodation may proceed in a different way in samples prepared by PAD.…”