In Publications: RBS and XRD Characterization of Yttrium Iron Garnet Thin Films
RBS and XRD Characterization of Yttrium Iron Garnet Thin Films
M Mansour, M Roumie, B Abdel Samad, H Basma, & M Korek
Abstract
Magnetic materials such as yttrium iron garnet (YIG or Y3Fe5O12) present a great importance for their magneto-optic properties. They are potential materials used for applications in the domain of optical telecommunications for example. In this work, we have investigated YIG thin films deposited on substrates of quartz and GGG (gadolinium gallium garnet or Gd3Ga5O12). Using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) we characterized the performed layers (thickness and stoichiometry) in order to correlate the films preparation conditions with the quality of the final material. We determined the optimal energy of the alpha particles beam used for RBS measurements and we fitted the experimental spectra using the SIMNRA simulated code. Our RBS results showed that the films have a stoichiometry close to that of the starting material. In addition, we found that the film thickness is proportional to deposition time but inversely proportional to the substrate temperature. Moreover, using x-ray diffraction (XRD) we determined the annealing effect on the structure of the profile of our thin films.
