Effect of Oxygen Pressure on the Magnetic Properties of Yttrium-Iron-Garnet Thin Films Made by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) thin films were grown on quartz substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) while varying oxygen gas pressure (P-O2) in the range of 6.5 x 10(-3) mbar to 1 mbar. YIG phase formation and magnetic properties were strongly dependent on P-O2. The YIG thin film grown at 1.7 x 10(-1) mbar shows the best magnetic properties (4 pi M-S approximate to 1650 G, low H-C approximate to 2 Oe) and FMR linewidth (Delta H approximate to 60 Oe) compared to films grown at other P-O2. Our results show that it is possible to obtain single-phase YIG films with low H-C and Delta H even on quartz substrates by adjusting the P-O2 during deposition.