Growth of thick epitaxial Bi-substituted iron garnet films with large diameter

The 3 inch in diameter (TmBi)
₃
(FeGa)
₅
O
₁₂
epitaxial films with thickness up to 60 μm were grown by liquid phase epitaxy method. The Bi
₂
O
₃
, Bi
₂
O
₃
-B
₂
O
₃
, Bi
₂
O
₃
-B
₂
O
₃
-Na
₂
O and Bi
₂
O
₃
-B
₂
O
₃
-CeO
₂
fluxes were used. The conditions of orthoferrite and garnet primary phase crystallization and optimal growth strategy were determined. It was found that the surface morphology strongly depends from film-substrate lattice mismatch. All films with mirror surface demonstrate high Faraday rotation and low saturation magnetization which are suitable for magneto-optic applications.