LPE films of bismuth-substituted bubble garnet

Thin films of Y2.7Bi0.3Fe3.8Ga1.2O12have been grown on {111} -oriented Gd3Ga5O12single-crystal substrates by isothermal liquid-phase epitaxy using Bi2O3-PbO-B2O3flux. Serpentine-like domains and, under the application of a bias field, bubble domains were observed in the films to have optically high contrast, which originates from an anomously large Faraday rotation caused by bismuth substitution. The sign of the Faraday rotation of the films was negative. The magnitude was 2 to 10 times larger than that of Y3Fe3.8Ga1.2O12in the wavelength region between 0.5 and 0.8 μm. The absorption coefficient of the films was a little larger than that of Y3Fe5O12in the wavelength region below 0.5 μm. The domain wall velocity of the films versus applied field was nearly the same as that of Y3Fe3.8Ga1.2O12films.