Pulsed Laser Deposition and Growth Studies of Bi3Fe5O12 on Gd3Ga5O12 and SiO2

Abstract

Magneto-optical garnets stand out because they exhibit a high Faraday rotation and low optical losses in the near infrared region. In this spectral range garnets are the only materials discussed in optical communications to realize nonreciprocal devices such as optical isolators. Such isolators are necessary to prevent reflected light caused by e.g. cable splices from irregularly entering optical components and hence to reduce the noise signal. Nowadays one wants to integrate such macroscopic optical components on a single chip leading to integrated optics. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to understand the principle growth mechanism, so that one can deposit high quality thin films of the optical active materials.We deposited Bi 3 Fe 5 O 12 on (100), (110) and (111) Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 and on SiO 2 by Pulsed Laser Deposition. Here we want to give details on the growth and preferential growth direction of the films. Our investigations have been carried out by utilizing an Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis, Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy, and X-ray Diffraction. We also report on the Faraday rotation of the films, which has been determined in a special setup polarization microscope.

Integration of magneto-optical active bismuth iron garnet on nongarnet substrates

“…2 Nevertheless, a thermodynamically stable Y 3 Fe 5 O 12 ͑YIG͒ buffer can be deposited on Si or SiO 2 first. Thereby, one has to think about a suitable substrate first.…”

Studies on the growth of epitaxial bismuth-substituted iron garnet on gadolinium gallium garnet single crystals by pulsed laser deposition

“…The magnetic and MO properties have been intensely studied by these groups, too. But not so many reports on structural properties or growth mechanisms have been published yet [2,20].…”

“…They are heated to a substrate temperature of approximately 550 1C. This is the optimal temperature for the deposition of BIG [16,20]. The primary beam electron energy for all RHEED analysis was 35 keV.…”

Giant Faraday Rotation through Ultrasmall Fe0n Clusters in Superparamagnetic FeO‐SiO2 Vitreous Films

“…However, due to high optical loss, neither YIG nor BIG single‐crystals are suitable for applications in wavelength regimes other than the infrared, in particular, in the visible (Vis) or even UV spectral ranges. In addition, their use is restricted to a relatively small number of substrate materials, and also possibilities for implementation with fiber optical devices are rather limited . These issues present very strict limitations which can only be overcome with alternative material solutions.…”