Properties of GdyY3-yFe5-xGaxO12films grown by liquid phase epitaxy

An investigation of as-grown and annealed films of the Gd
y
Y
3-y
Fe
5-x
Ga
x
O
12
family of bubble garnet films is reported. Measurement of film parameters important for magnetic bubble devices were made, including: characteristic length, saturation magnetization, mobility, coercivity, anisotropy field, transition temperatures, and temperature coefficients. The stress-induced anisotropy of uncracked films was found to increase monotonically with room-temperature lattice mismatch. However, the data suggest there is an in-plane component of anisotropy which is probably growth induced. The primary effect of annealing at 1200°C is to redistribute gallium ions among the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the garnet lattice, resulting in lower compensation temperatures and changes in lattice parameter and magnetization.