Interface effects in nanometer-thick yttrium iron garnet films studied by magneto-optical spectroscopy
- Charles Univ., Prague (Czech Republic). Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
- Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States). Dept. of Physics
The properties of nanometer-thick yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films are strongly influenced by interfaces. This work employs spectral ellipsometry (SE) and magneto-optic polar Kerr rotation (PKR) to characterize YIG films with thickness, t, from 6 nm to 30 nm grown on Gd3Ga5O12 (GGG) substrates oriented parallel to (111) plane. The films display a surface roughness of 0.35 nm or lower. The analysis of the SE data at the photon energies of 1 eV < E < 6.5 eV provided the t and permittivity values. The PKR at 1.3 eV < E < 4.5 eV is reasonably explained with the optical model for the YIG film/GGG substrate system. Even better agreement is achieved by assuming a 1.07-nm-thick layer sandwiched between YIG and GGG that has Fe3+ sublattice magnetization opposite to that in the YIG volume. This suggests the existence of antiferromagnetic coupling between the Gd3+ and tetrahedral Fe3+.
- Research Organization:
- Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Spins and Heat in Nanoscale Electronic Systems (SHINES)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Czech Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF); US Army Research Office (ARO); Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012670
- OSTI ID:
- 1371198
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 8; Related Information: SHINES partners with University of California, Riverside (lead); Arizona State University; Colorado State University; Johns Hopkins University; University of California Irvine; University of California Los Angeles; University of Texas at Austin; ISSN 0003-6951
- Publisher:
- American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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