Synthesis of high-performance magnetic garnet materials and garnet-bismuth oxide nanocomposites using physical vapor deposition followed by high-temperature crystallization

Nur-E-Alam, Mohammad; Vasiliev, Mikhail; Alameh, Kamal; Kotov, Viacheslav

doi:10.1351/PAC-CON-11-02-02

Pure Appl. Chem., 2011, Vol. 83, No. 11, pp. 1971-1980

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/PAC-CON-11-02-02

Published online 2011-07-07

Synthesis of high-performance magnetic garnet materials and garnet-bismuth oxide nanocomposites using physical vapor deposition followed by high-temperature crystallization

Mohammad Nur-E-Alam¹*, Mikhail Vasiliev¹, Kamal Alameh^2,1* and Viacheslav Kotov³

¹ Electron Science Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Dr., Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia
² Department of Nanobio Materials and Electronics, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea
³ Institute of Radio Engineering and Electronics, Russian Academy of Sciences, 11 Mohovaya St., Moscow 125009, Russia

Abstract: Bi-substituted iron garnet (Bi:IG) compounds synthesized in thin film form are the best semi-transparent magneto-optical (MO) materials for applications in magnetic recording, optical sensors, and photonics. These materials can possess attractive magnetic properties and the highest specific Faraday rotation in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions, if the deposited layers contain a high volumetric fraction of the garnet phase and possess high-quality surfaces and microstructure. In this paper, we study the effects of various deposition and annealing process parameters on the properties of Bi:IG and garnet-oxide nanocomposite films of several composition types fabricated using radio-frequency (RF) sputtering deposition followed by high-temperature isothermal crystallization. We also investigate the kinetics of garnet phase formation within a garnet-Bi-oxide nanocomposite material.