Effect of pre-crystallization on the preparation of thick Bi-YIG films by the metal–organic decomposition method

•The preparation process of Bi-YIG thick films on glass substrate was investigated.•The pre-crystallization step is crucial to achieve high quality Bi-YIG thick films.•Faraday rotation angle of the pre-crystallized thick film was −3.75°/μm.•Prepared films showed in-plane magnetic anisotropy.

Bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet films with a thickness of about 0.8–1.2 μm were fabricated on glass substrates by using a metal–organic decomposition method. We observed that thick samples fabricated by intermediate short time sintering (pre-crystallization process) showed enhanced magneto-optical properties, good crystallinity, and high saturation magnetization. For the sample prepared with the pre-crystallization process the Faraday rotation angle was measured to be −3.75°/μm which was larger compared to the thick film prepared without pre-crystallization. The lattice constant and the grain size of the film were about 12.45 Å and 43.8 nm, respectively.