The influence of substrate temperature and annealing on the properties of pulsed laser-deposited YIG films on fused quartz substrate

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) thin films were deposited on fused quartz substrate at different substrate temperatures (Ts) varying from room temperature (RT) to 850 °C using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. All the films in the as-deposited state were X-ray amorphous and non-magnetic at RT. The film deposited at RT after annealing at temperatures Ta⩾700 °C showed both X-ray peaks and the magnetic order. The films deposited at higher Ts (500-850 °C) and then annealed at 700 °C resulted in better-quality films with higher 4πMs value. The highest value of magnetization was for the sample deposited at 850 °C and annealed at 700 °C, which is 68% of the bulk 4πMs value.