Characterization of epitaxial ( Y , Bi ) 3 ( Fe , Ga ) 5 O 12 thin films grownby metal-organic decomposition method

Epitaxial ( Y , Bi ) 3 ( Fe , Ga ) 5 O 12 garnet thin films have been prepared on Gd 3 Ga 5 O 12 (111) substrates by a metal-organic decomposition (MOD) method using carboxylic acids. The chemical compositions of the films prepared in this study are Y 2 Bi Fe 5 O 12 (YBFO), Y 3 Fe 4 Ga O 12 (YFGO), and Y 2 Bi Fe 4 Ga O 12 (YBFGO). Epitaxy of these films was confirmed by x-ray diffraction and Rutherford backscattering (RBS) measurements. Full width of half maximum values of the 444 diffraction peaks of YFGO and YBFGO were 0.4° and 0.04°, respectively. RBS channeling was clearly observed for the YFGO film with a minimum yield χ min along the [111] direction of ∼ 7.5 % . These garnet films could also be reproducibly obtained by the MOD method without any deterioration in the MOD solutions over two years.