rf sputtering of highly Bi-substituted garnet films on glass substrates for magneto-optic memory

Abstract

Using glass substrates, we have prepared highly Bi-substituted garnet [(Bi,Y,Fe,Al)8O12 and (Bi,Gd,Fe,Al)8O12] films by rf diode sputtering which was followed by annealing for crystallization. The films were polycrystalline garnet with no preferred orientation and no impurity crystalline phase detectable by x-ray analysis, which contained 1.1–1.4 Bi ions per formula unit. The films crystallized directly during the sputter deposition when the substrate temperature Ts>440 °C. Film quality was best when Ts was just below 440 °C. The film had magnetic anisotropy perpendicular to the film plane, which is stress induced. In the (Bi,Gd,Fe,Al)8O12 film, the magnetization normal to the film plane exhibited strong coercivity, Hc=600 Oe, and a large remanence-to-saturation ratio, Mr/Ms=1, while in the (Bi,Y,Fe,Al)8O12 film, weak Hc (200 Oe) and small Mr/Ms (0.47). These films had large Faraday rotation, typically 1.5×104 deg/cm at λ=633 nm, owing to the high Bi substitution.