Magneto-optical and Microwave Properties of LuBiIG Thin Films Prepared by Liquid Phase Epitaxy Method from Lead-Free Flux

Lu_2.1Bi_0.9Fe₅O₁₂ (LuBiIG) garnet films are prepared by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) method on gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrates from lead-free flux. Three-inch single crystal garnet films with (444) orientation and good surface are successfully fabricated. The lattice mismatch to the GGG(111) substrate is as small as 0.08%. The ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) linewidth of the film is 2∆ H=2.8-5.1Oe, the Faraday rotation is 1.64deg/μm at 633nm at room temperature and the optical absorption coefficient of the film is 600cm^-1 in visible range and about 100-170cm^-1 when the wavelength is larger than 800nm. The epitaxy film possesses dominating in-plane magnetization with a saturation magnetization of about 1562G. These superior optical, magnetic-optical (MO) and microwave properties of our garnet films have potential applications in both MO and microwave devices.