Spin wave excitation in sub-micrometer thick Y3Fe5O12 films fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on garnet and silicon substrates: A comparative study

Abstract

The development of yttrium iron garnet nanostructures on a silicon substrate is critically important for the integration of magnonic components with conventional electronic circuits. In this work, we present experimental data on spin wave excitation and propagation in 700 nm thick planar Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) films fabricated on gadolinium gallium garnet Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) and silicon substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The spin wave spectroscopy measurements were accomplished using a set of micro-antennas placed directly on the film surface. The data were collected in a frequency range of 0.5–7 GHz and a bias magnetic field from 0 to 2000 Oe. We compare and analyze the spectra obtained for YIG/GGG and YIG/Si. Fitting to the Kittel formula yields the effective magnetization of the samples which is compared with the results obtained by magnetometry. Application of spin wave spectroscopy for magnetic film characterization allows us to extract valuable information on the magnetic texture. Understanding the mechanisms leading to the spin wave damping modification is the key to low-loss spin wave devices compatible with conventional silicon-based technology.