Giant Faraday Rotation of Ce-Substituted YIG Films Epitaxially Grown by RF Sputtering

Abstract

Cerium substituted yttrium iron garnet films epitaxially grown by rf diode sputtering were found to have exceptionally large Faraday rotation in the visible and near infrared (1–2 eV). Faraday rotation at room temperature is enhanced in proportion to Ce content by a factor per Ce ion of 2×10 4 deg/cm for λ=633 nm and -1.3×10 4 deg/cm for 1150 nm. The latter factor is 5 times higher than that by Bi. The Ce-substituted YIG films are the most promising magneto-optical materials.