Effect of Oxygen Pressure on the Magnetic Properties of Yttrium-Iron-Garnet Thin Films Made by Pulsed Laser Deposition

Yttrium-iron-garnet (YIG) thin films were grown on quartz substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) while varying oxygen gas pressure (P
_O2
) in the range of 6.5 × 10
^-3
mbar to 1 mbar. YIG phase formation and magnetic properties were strongly dependent on P
_O2
. The YIG thin film grown at 1.7 × 10
^-1
mbar shows the best magnetic properties (4π M
_s
≈ 1650 G, low H
_C
≈ 2 Oe) and FMR linewidth (ΔH ≈ 60 Oe) compared to films grown at other P
_O2
. Our results show that it is possible to obtain single-phase YIG films with low H
_C
and ΔH even on quartz substrates by adjusting the P
_O2
during deposition.