Piet Frans Bongers

Faraday Rotation and Optical Absorption of Epitaxial Films of Y3−xBixFe5O12

Thin films of Y3−xBixFe5O12 (x ≤ 0.3) have been grown on Gd3Ga5O12 and Sm3Ga5O12 substrates by liquid phase epitaxy. Faraday rotation and optical absorption measurements between 0.7 and 0.4 micron are reported. Near 0.5 the FR has a large negative value of −3 degrees/micron for x = 0.26 as compared with +0.3 degrees/micron for YIG. Both the optical absorption and the figure of merit (rotation/absorption) are higher for the Bi containing garnet films. The promising properties of these materials for magneto‐optic applications are discussed.Thin films of Y3−xBixFe5O12 (x ≤ 0.3) have been grown on Gd3Ga5O12 and Sm3Ga5O12 substrates by liquid phase epitaxy. Faraday rotation and optical absorption measurements between 0.7 and 0.4 micron are reported. Near 0.5 the FR has a large negative value of −3 degrees/micron for x = 0.26 as compared with +0.3 degrees/micron for YIG. Both the optical absorption and the figure of merit (rotation/absorption) are higher for the Bi containing garnet films. The promising properties of these materials for magneto‐optic applications are discussed.