Characterization of epitaxial (Y,Bi)3(Fe,Ga)5O12 thin films grown by metal-organic decomposition method

Abstract

Epitaxial (Y,Bi)3(Fe,Ga)5O12 garnet thin films have been prepared on Gd3Ga5O12 (111) substrates by a metal-organic decomposition (MOD) method using carboxylic acids. The chemical compositions of the films prepared in this study are Y2BiFe5O12 (YBFO), Y3Fe4GaO12 (YFGO), and Y2BiFe4GaO12 (YBFGO). Epitaxy of these films was confirmed by x-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) measurements. Full width of half maximum values of the 444 diffraction peaks of YFGO and YBFGO were 0.4° and 0.04°, respectively. RBS channeling was clearly observed for the YFGO film with a minimum yield χmin along the [111] direction of ∼7.5%. These garnet films could also be reproducibly obtained by the MOD method without any deterioration in the MOD solutions over two years.