Optical operation of a magnetic bubble

A magnetic bubble domain is generated on liquid-phase epitaxial (LPE) garnet film by focusing laser light. It is possible to write with only a few milliwatts light power on a thin film with a low anisotropy field. Because the Bi-containing LPE films used have a high Faraday rotation angle, a written bit or bubble can be read out with a high contrast ratio. Because of its low coercivity, the bubble moves along the temperature gradient to the region heated by the light beam and is then stabilized at a corner of a square formed on the film by etching or ion-implantation. Erasure is possible selectively or all together by increasing the bias field. These optical operations of a magnetic bubble are discussed in connection with the material parameters.