Epitaxial growth of terbium iron garnet thin films with out-of-plane axis of magnetization

We fabricate epitaxial terbium iron garnet (Tb3Fe5O12, TbIG) thin films on (110) gadolinium gallium garnet (Gd3Ga5O12, GGG) substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique. High quality (110) oriented epitaxial growth of TbIG thin films has been revealed by θ–2θ scans, φ-scans, rocking curves (ω-scans), and reciprocal space mapping in high resolution X-ray diffraction. Magnetic and magneto-optic hysteresis loops, however, demonstrate that the easy axis of magnetization in these films is out-of-plane, i.e. along [110] instead of [1–11] direction, as sharp contrast to bulk.