Magnetic garnet films prepared by ion beam sputtering and their application to optical isolators

Author

Takahashi, T. ; Toshima, H. ; Imaizumi, N. ; Okuda, T. ; Miyazawa, Y.

Author_Institution

Namiki Precision Jewel Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan

Volume

27

Issue

6

fYear

1991

fDate

11/1/1991 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

5396

Lastpage

5398

Abstract

As a 45° Faraday rotator of an optical isolator in the visible region, highly Bi-substituted iron garnet films prepared by reactive ion beam sputtering-deposition (RIBS) are investigated. Both Bi₃Fe₅O₁₂ and Bi_2.5Y_0.5Fe₅O₁₂ films are deposited onto (111) oriented Gd₃Lu₂Ga₃O₁₂ and Gd ₃Sc₂Ga₃O₁₂ garnet substrates. The surface morphology becomes rougher as the film thickness increases approximately over 1.5 μm. The two-step RIBS growth method and sputtering conditions are examined. A 15° Faraday rotation angle at a film thickness of 2.3 μm (λ=633 nm) is obtained. Combining the 2.3 μm-thick RIBS-grown film with a 28 μm-thick conventional LPE (liquid-phase epitaxy) grown film produced a 45° Faraday rotator. The forward and backward losses of the isolator are 4.2 dB and -35 dB, respectively

Keywords

bismuth compounds; garnets; iron compounds; magnetic thin films; magneto-optical devices; optical isolators; sputtered coatings; yttrium compounds; -35 dB; 4.2 dB; 633 nm; Bi_2.5Y_0.5Fe₅O₁₂; BiFe5O12; BiIG; Faraday rotator; Gd₃Lu₂Ga₃O₁₂; Gd₃Sc₂Ga₃O₁₂; LPE; RIBS-grown film; backward losses; film thickness; forward losses; ion beam sputtering; optical isolators; surface morphology; two-step RIBS growth; Bismuth; Garnet films; Ion beams; Iron; Isolators; Optical films; Particle beam optics; Ribs; Sputtering; Substrates;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.278850

Filename

278850