A classical (Y Sm Lu Ca)3 (Fe Ge)5 O12 bubble garnet, supporting 1.8-μm bubbles, has been implanted with 1.5×1016 D+2 cm2 at 60 keV either directly or through a predeposited 100-Å-thick silica layer. Nuclear techniques such as D (3He, α) p nuclear reaction and Rutherford backscattering combined with channeling measurements were used to determine the implant and damage profiles, respectively. Double-crystal x-ray diffraction was used to measure the maximum strain and magnetic properties were obtained from ferromagnetic resonance. The evolution of these parameters has been studied as a function of annealing treatments. It follows that, as compared to hydrogen, deuterium also interacts at damage-level inducing within the garnet new magnetic phenomena. A higher annealing temperature is required for bubble memory applications. The silica overlayer which is useful for increasing the anisotropy field change, somewhat affects the magnetic properties of the implanted layer.