Magnetic energy dissipative factors of spin-coated Y[formula omitted]Fe[formula omitted]O12 thin films

Abstract

Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) is a ferrimagnetic insulator that shows significant potential in various applications such as spin pumping and optical devices. In the case of YIG, the uncompensated antiferromagnetic coupled Fe3＋ ions originate the ferrimagnetic ordering. A homogeneous YIG thin film with lower Gilbert damping constant is essential for its industrial applications. Therefore, the YIG’s intrinsic and extrinsic magnetic energy dissipative factors are crucial to explore. Here, we report the growth of uniform polycrystalline YIG thin films on thermally oxidized Si (100) substrates. X-ray diffraction confirms the single-phase formation of YIG. Surface morphology and thickness on thin films are studied using scanning electron microscopy. X-ray photoemission is used to probe the valence state of constituent elements of the ferrimagnetic thin films with saturation magnetization 3.11 μB/f.u. The lowest Gilbert damping constant (α) = 4.754 × 10−3 with an inhomogeneous contribution to the linewidth of 5.04 mT is observed due to extrinsic inhomogeneous growth of the deposited films.