Enhancement of the magneto-optical performance of Sr(Ti0.6−xGaxFe0.4)O3 perovskite films by Ga substitution

Abstract

Epitaxial films of ferromagnetic single-phase perovskite (Ti0.6−xGaxFe0.4)O3 (x≤0.6) were grown on (001) oriented (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O3 substrates by pulsed laser deposition. The films had an out-of-plane magnetic easy axis which is attributed to magnetoelastic effects. Ga lowered the optical absorption of the film, the Faraday rotation, and the magnetization but increased the magneto-optical figure of merit. The figure of merit for x=0.4 was 3.5±0.3 deg/dB, at least approximately three times greater than the value at x=0, and the optical loss at 1550 nm wavelength was 0.012–0.015 dB/μm.