Growth of magneto-optic Ce:YIG thin films on amorphous silica substrates

• Published in: Journal of the European Ceramic Society 2001, Vol.21 (10), p.1957-1960
• Main Authors: Uno, Takehiko, Noge, Satoru
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Building materials. Ceramics. Glasses; Ceramic industries; Chemical industry and chemicals; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Deposition by sputtering; Electrotechnical and electronic ceramics; Exact sciences and technology; Magnetic properties; Magnetic properties and materials; Magnetic properties of monolayers and thin films; Magnetic properties of surface, thin films and multilayers; Magnetooptical effects; Materials science; Methods of deposition of films and coatings; film growth and epitaxy; Optical properties; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of bulk materials and thin films; Physics; Technical ceramics; Transition metal oxides
• ISSN: 0955-2219; 1873-619X
• DOI: 10.1016/S0955-2219(01)00150-9

This paper presents a method for the growth of thin films of cerium substituted YIG (Ce:YIG) on an amorphous substrate. The Ce:YIG film was grown in two steps. The first step was the deposition of an amorphous film of CeY 2Fe 5O 12 on a SiO 2 substrate by RF-magnetron sputtering. The second step was crystallizing the film by raising its temperature to around 600°C in vacuum. A film of crysatllized Ce:YIG was obtained after this thermal treatment. For the thermal treatment process to work, a small chip of GGG plate was placed on the film. On the other hand, crystallization did not occur when the GGG chip was not placed on the film. The Faraday rotation θ F was about 2300 deg/mm for light at a wavelength of 630 nm, and this was approximately the same value as for an epitaxial film of Ce:YIG on a GGG substrate. This method will be useful in the development of non-reciprocal planar light-wave circuits.