Microwave-assisted synthesis and characterization of Bi-substituted yttrium garnet nanoparticles

Bi-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG, Bi_1.8Y_1.2Fe₅O₁₂) nanoparticles were prepared by microwave-assisted co-precipitation as well as conventional co-precipitation using ammonia aqueous solution as precipitant. The nanoparticles were characterized by thermal gravity-differential thermal analysis, X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and vibrating sample magnetometer, respectively. The Faraday rotation of Bi-YIG modified PMMA slices was also investigated. Results demonstrate that the Bi-YIG nanoparticles prepared by microwave-assisted co-precipitation show smaller particle size and higher Faraday rotation than those prepared by conventional co-precipitation.     

Large enhancement of Faraday rotation by localized surface plasmon resonance in Au nanoparticles embedded in Bi:YIG film

A large enhancement of the Faraday rotation, which is associated with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), was obtained in a sample with Au nanoparticles embedded in a Bi-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi:YIG) film. On a quartz substrate, Au nanoparticles were formed by heating an Au thin film, and a Bi:YIG film was then deposited on them. A sample containing the Au nanoparticles produced by 1000 °C heating showed a resonant attenuation with narrower bandwidth in the transmission spectrum than nanoparticles of other samples formed by low-temperature heating. The sharp resonant Faraday rotation angle was 4.4 times larger than the estimated intrinsic Bi:YIG film at the LSPR wavelength; the angular difference was 0.14°. A discrepancy in the bandwidth between the transmission attenuation and the resonant Faraday rotation is discussed.     

Effects of heating rate on the magneto-optical properties of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet films prepared via modified metal-organic decomposition

This work investigated the effects of heating rate and annealing on the magneto-optical properties of bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG) thin films on glass and (111)-oriented single-crystalline gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrates fabricated by metal-organic decomposition (MOD). We modified the MOD method by eliminating the pre-annealing process. We performed annealing at various temperatures to determine the optimal temperature for obtaining the Bi-YIG phase. We then annealed at the optimized temperature using various heating rates. The optimal conditions were annealing for 1 h at 750 °C at a heating rate of 30 °C/min on GGG to obtain highly crystallized fine grains. The Faraday rotation for this film was about −10.5°/μm. The optimized heating rate enhanced the magneto-optical properties due to improved crystallinity and saturated magnetization. The Bi-YIG thin films prepared by this prescribed MOD method exhibited excellent magneto-optical performance and are potential candidates for applications in optical devices.     

Magneto-optical imaging using a garnet indicator film prepared on glass substrates

We observed the magnetic domains of a magnetic card by using the bismuth-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG; Bi₁Y₂Fe₅O₁₂) thin films as the indicator films. The magnetic domains’ dependence on the preparation conditions of the garnet thin film crystals was visualized by using a magneto-optical microscope. Garnet thin films were fabricated on glass substrates using a metal-organic decomposition method (MOD). We found that bigger Faraday rotation was measured in the better crystallized indicator films. Polycrystalline Bi-YIG thin films were successfully obtained for the annealing temperature of 700 °C and an annealing time of 1 h. The thickness of the film was about 47 nm for a single coating during the MOD process. The Faraday-rotation angle of the films was estimated as −2.47°/μm and the angle was comparable to other synthesis methods, such as the sol-gel and the RF-magnetron sputtering. Using these indicator films, we could image the magnetic domains of magnetic materials.     

Structure and magneto-optical properties of fine-grain garnet thin films

The structure and magneto-optical properties of fine-grain garnet thin films crystallized by the rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) method have been studied. The RRAT method has been used to crystallize BiGaDyIG garnet single-layer or BiGaDyIG/AI double-layer films and to get nanometer grain size (about 30–50 nm), which results in a large Faraday rotation angle, a smoother surface and fewer voids in the films. Meanwhile we have discovered that the Faraday rotation angle increases with the number of recurrences during the rapid annealing and quenching. With the more recurrent annealing one can not only get a strong Faraday effect, but it suppresses the appearance of DyFeO₃ phase in garnet films, which has been explained very well. By applying the new method, the as-deposited films have been succesfully crystallized to the (BiDy)₃(FeGa)₅O₁₂ garnet phase. They exhibited excellent magneto-optical properties with a coercivity of about 1500 Oe and effective Faraday rotation angle of 1.5°. The composition, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the crystallized garnet films have been examined.     

热稳定法拉第旋转TbYbBiIG磁光单晶及性能

采用高温溶液法，以Ｂｉ２Ｏ３／Ｂ２Ｏ３为助熔剂成功地生长出掺铋复合稀土铁石榴石（ＴｂＹｂＢｉ）３Ｆｅ５Ｏ１２（简称ＴｂＹｂＢｉＩＧ）晶体。晶体外形规则，最大尺寸为７×６×４ｍｍ３，Ｘ射线衍射分析证实，生长的晶体为ＴｂＹｂＢｉＩＧ单相单晶体，扫描电镜能谱分析其组成为Ｔｂ２．０６Ｙｂ０．４６Ｂｉ０．４８Ｆｅ５Ｏ１２。在１．０μｍ～１．７μｍ波段测量出晶体法拉第旋转谱和光吸收谱。当λ＝１．５５μｍ时，在１０°Ｃ～８０°Ｃ温度范围内测得法拉第旋转θＦ的温度系数为ｄθＦ／ｄＴ＝－２．３×１０－２ｄｅｇ·ｍｍ－１Ｋ－１。研究结果表明，ＴｂＹｂＢｉＩＧ单晶体在近红外波段θＦ约为ＹＩＧ单晶的３倍，温度系数小，是制作高性能光隔离器的一种好材料     

High-throughput characterization of BixY3−xFe5O12 combinatorial thin films by magneto-optical imaging technique

Bi_xY_3−xFe₅O₁₂ thin films have been grown on GGG (Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂) (1 1 1) substrates by the combinatorial composition-spread techniques under substrate temperature (T_sub) ranging from 410 to 700 °C and O₂ pressure of 200 mTorr. In order to study the effect of substrates on the deposition of Bi_xY_3−xFe₅O₁₂ thin films, garnet substrates annealed at 1300 °C for 3 h were also used. Magneto-optical properties were characterized by our home-designed magneto-optical imaging system. From the maps of Faraday rotation angle θ_F, it was evident that the Faraday effect appears only when T_sub = 430-630 °C. θ_F reaches to the maximum value (∼6°/μm, λ = 632 nm) at 500 °C, and is proportional to the Bi contents. XRD and EPMA analyses showed that Bi ions are easier to substitute for Y sites and better crystallinity is obtained for annealed substrates than for commercial ones.     

Bi置换DyIG溅射薄膜的磁光性能与干涉效应的研究

本文报道用高频溅射法在玻璃衬底上制备的Bi置换DylG薄膜具有高的矫顽力和矩形比。在500nm波长附近,法拉第旋转角达7.5°/μm。经热磁记录的磁畴稳定。并发现薄膜表面蒸镀不同金属时,随不同波长和磁光层厚度干涉效应有较大差异。利用此特性可对石榴石记录盘片进行最佳性能设计。 关键词：     

Giant Faraday rotation in Fe–ZnSe granular films

The giant magneto-optical Faraday effect (giant Faraday rotation) of ferromagnetic metal–semiconductor matrix Fe–ZnSe granular films prepared by radio frequency sputtering is studied. The result shows that the Faraday rotation angle θ_F value of the granular films sample with Fe volume fraction x=35% is of the order of 10⁵ °/cm at room temperature. Temperature dependence of the θ_F of Fe_0.35(ZnSe)_0.65 granular films shows that θ_F value, below 150 K, increases rapidly with the decrease of the temperature, and when T=10 K θ_F value is 6×10⁵ °/cm. Through the study of the structure and dependence of magnetic properties on temperature, it has been found that the remarkable increase of the θ_F value of Fe_0.35(ZnSe)_0.65 granular films below 150 K seems to arise from the sp–d exchange interaction inside the granular films.     

Wavelength and temperature characteristics of BiYbIG film/YIG crystal composite structure for magneto-optical applications

We report the wavelength and temperature characteristics of novel Bi-substituted rare-earth iron garnet films grown on a YIG substrate by a modified liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) technique. The Faraday-rotation spectrum was measured by the magneto-optically modulated dual-frequency technique with the wavelength varied from 800 nm to 1700 nm. The resultant Bi_0.37Yb_2.63Fe₅O₁₂ (BiYbIG) LPE film/YIG crystal structure showed an increased Faraday-rotation coefficient due to Bi³⁺-ion doping on the dodecahedral sites of the iron garnet without increasing absorption loss; therefore, a good magneto-optical figure of merit, defined by the ratio of Faraday rotation and optical absorption loss, has been achieved (21.5 deg/dB and 30.2 deg/dB at 1300-nm and 1550-nm wavelengths, respectively, at room temperature). In addition, since the Yb³⁺ and Y³⁺ ions provide opposite contributions to the wavelength and temperature characteristics of the Faraday rotation, the resultant BiYbIG LPE film/YIG crystal structure showed a flat Faraday-rotation curve versus wavelength and temperature. The Faraday-rotation wavelength coefficient was reduced to 0.06 %/nm at 1550-nm wavelength. The Faraday-rotation temperature derivative was reduced to 0.006 deg/°C at 1300-nm wavelength and 0.007 deg/°C at 1550-nm wavelength, respectively. PACS 78.20.Ls; 81.15.Lm; 75.50.Gg     

Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of FeRh thin films

The magnetic and magneto-optical properties of FeRh thin films epitaxially deposited onto MgO(1 0 0) substrates by RF sputter-deposition system have been investigated in conjunction with the structure. An intriguing virgin effect has been found in the M–T curves of the as-deposited FeRh thin films, which is presumably interpreted in term of a change in structural phase when heating. Also, a (negative) maximum peak of Kerr rotation at around 3.8 eV has been observed when FeRh thin films are in ferromagnetic state. The polar Kerr rotation angle is found to increase at temperatures above 100 °C, which corresponds to the antiferromagnet (AF)–ferromagnet (FM) transition of FeRh thin films.     

Growth and magnetic behavior of bismuth substituted yttrium iron garnet nanoparticles

Crystal growth and the magnetic properties of bismuth substituted yttrium iron garnet (Bi-YIG) nanoparticles were studied with particular focus on the bismuth composition dependence of the magnetic properties of the particles and the effects of annealing on the garnet phase formation. The Bi-YIG nanoparticles of 47–67 nm in size can be chemically synthesized when they are annealed at 650–850 °C. Both the lattice constant and the magnetization of the garnet nanoparticles linearly increase when the bismuth composition in the Bi-YIG particles increases. We have found that chemically synthesized nanoparticles transform from the amorphous to the garnet phase when annealed at temperatures below 650 °C, while the onset of magnetic moment of iron in the garnet nanoparticles is observed slightly above 650 °C. According to Mössbauer effect measurements, the hyperfine fields of ⁵⁷Fe at the tetrahedral and octahedral sites in the garnet are 39 and 48 T, respectively.     

A compounded rare-earth iron garnet single crystal exhibiting stable Faraday rotation against wavelength and temperature variation in the 1.55 μm band

The Bi, Tb and Yb partially substituted iron garnet bulk single crystals of Tb_3−x−yYb_yBi_xFe₅O₁₂ were grown by using Bi₂O₃/B₂O₃ as flux and accelerated crucible rotation technique for single-crystal growth. Faraday rotation (FR) spectra showed that the specific FR of the (Tb_0.91Yb_1.38Bi_0.71)Fe₅O₁₂ crystal under magnetic field at saturation was measured to be about −1617°/cm at λ=1.55 μm, Faraday rotation wavelength coefficient (FWC, 0.009%/nm) in the wavelength range of 1.50–1.62 μm and Faraday rotation temperature coefficient (FTC, 3.92×10⁻⁵/K) at λ=1.55 μm were even smaller than that of YIG. It is proven that through combining two types of Bi-substituted rare-earth iron garnets with opposite FWC and FTC signs, the compound rare-earth iron garnets with low FWC and FTC may be obtained due to the compensation effect. The saturation magnetization of (Tb_0.91Yb_1.38Bi_0.71) Fe₅O₁₂ crystal is 0.48×10⁶ A/M and is also much smaller than that of YIG. We have found empirically that there is a simple relationship between the FR θ_f(x) and Bi content x for Tb_3−x−yYb_yBi_xFe₅O₁₂, which is given by θ_f(x)=(−2759x+400)°/cm.     

Evolution of magnetic phase at low aging temperature in a heavily cold-drawn stainless steel fiber

The evolution of the magnetic phase upon aging at 300–520 °C in a heavily cold-drawn AISI 316L austenitic stainless steel fiber was studied using thermomagnetic analysis (TMA) and magnetic force microscopy with a heating stage. An increasing trend of magnetization from 50 °C to around 470 °C in the heating curves of TMA in austenitic stainless steels after a cold-drawing process was observed. No significant M_s temperature signal in the TMA curve at cooling indicated an increase in magnetization upon cooling period without significant phase transformation. A series of in situ magnetic force microscopy observations reveal a growth of the magnetic domain structure after aging at 300 °C for 2.5 h. Results show that the ferromagnetic increase during aging at lower annealing temperature resulted from the growth of martensite.     

Effects of deposition temperature and thickness on the structural properties of thermal evaporated bismuth thin films

Bismuth (Bi) thin films of different thicknesses were deposited onto Si(1 0 0) substrate at various substrate temperatures by thermal evaporation technique. Influences of thickness and deposition temperature on the film morphologies, microstructure, and topographies were investigated. A columnar growth of hexahedron-like grains with bimodal particle size distribution was observed at high deposition temperature. The columnar growth and the presence of large grains induce the Bi films to have large surface roughness as evidenced by atomic force microscopy (AFM). The dependence of the crystalline orientation on the substrate temperature was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), which shows that the Bi films have completely randomly oriented polycrystalline structure with a rhombohedral phase at high deposition temperature (200 °C) and were strongly textured with preferred orientation at low deposition temperatures (30 and 100 °C).     

Effects of annealing on morphological,structural and electrical properties of thermally evaporated WO3 thin films

Tungsten trioxide (WO₃) thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation method onto quartz substrates at room temperature. Effect of annealing temperature (from 200 to 800 °C) to morphology, crystallographic structure and electrical properties were investigated. In order to investigate the temperature dependant resistivity properties of the films dark current–voltage measurements were done at the temperatures of 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 °C. From the AFM pictures it is seen that the increasing annealing temperature causes an increase in grain sizes. At elevated temperatures the grains combine to each other and thus form continuous and homogenous surfaces. From the XRD patterns it was seen that the as-prepared and annealed films at 200, 300, 310 and 320 °C were amorphous. On the other hand at 330 °C and higher temperatures the films were found as in crystallized structures (monoclinic phase). From the current–voltage measurements it was seen that the contacts areohmic and the current increased with increasing temperatures. From the calculated values it was seen that the produced films shows good semiconducting nature.     

Temperature dependence of the stability of written bits in a magnetic hard-disk medium investigated by magnetic force microscopy

The thermal stability of written bits in a magnetic hard-disk medium has been investigated with a magnetic force microscope (MFM), which was equipped with an in situ heating system capable of heating the medium up to 300 °C. It is shown that both the annealing temperature and the duration have significant effect on the decay of the MFM signal. No signal decay is observed when annealing for 30 min up to temperatures of 200 °C. The MFM signal decays rapidly with increasing temperature, for temperatures over 200 °C. Repeated annealing at 280 °C with a duration below 10 min does not cause any signal decay.     

Mutual phase locking in high-frequency microwave nano-oscillators as a function of field angle

We perform a qualitative analysis of phase locking in a double point-contact spin–valve system by solving the Landau–Lifshitz–Gilbert–Slonzewski equation using a hybrid-finite-element method. We show that the phase-locking behaviour depends on the applied field angle. Starting from a low field angle, the locking-current difference between the current through contact A and B increases with increasing angle up to a maximum of 14 mA at 30°, and it decreases thereafter until it reaches a minimum of 1 mA at 75°. The tunability of the phase-lock frequency with current decreases linearly with increasing out-of-plane angle from 45 to 21 MHz/mA.     

Magnetic properties of HITPERM-type alloys at high temperature

(Fe,Co)–Zr,Hf)–Cu–B (HITPERM-type) alloys with variable Hf, Zr and Co content were isothermally crystallised at 500–650 °C for 1 h, and the optimum nanocrystallisation temperature was selected on the basis of the minimum coercive field at room temperature. The quasistatic hysteresis loops were measured at temperature from 20 to 650 °C. Subsequently, the optimally annealed alloys were subjected to long-term annealing at 500, 550 and 600 °C. Working temperature of 600°C is too high for the investigated alloys to maintain stable magnetic properties. Temperature of 550 or 500 °C permits the material to be magnetically stable for a long period. The magnetic hysteresis loops recorded for the nanocrystalline alloys, where Fe:Co ratio is close to 1 and refractory metals content is 7 at.%, prove that coercive field increases slightly with temperature, but remains in the range of 20–40 A/m (depending on the alloy composition) from 20 to 550 °C. This proves that the investigated alloys, after optimisation of chemical composition, may be suitable for high temperature use.     

用于光纤电流传感器的掺Bi稀土铁石榴石单晶生长与磁光性能

用熔盐法生长了两种Bi替代的高法拉第旋转、温度稳定的稀土铁石榴石磁光单晶Bi-HoYbIG和Bi-GdYIG,测试分析了其在近红外波段的磁光性能及其温度特性。Ho3-z-y,YbyiBixFe512(x＝1.03,y=1.20)单晶的比法拉第旋转角为-891°/cm(λ=1.31μm)和-767°/cm(λ＝1.55μm),Y3-z-yGdyBixFe5O12(x=0.46,y=0.24)单晶的值为－1067°／cm(λ=1.31μm)和-882°／cm(λ=1.55μm),两者都比纯YIG晶体高出许多。而且这两种晶体的法拉第旋转角随温度变化较小,在250～400K范围内,其温度灵敏度S分别为4. 60×10-4／K和4. 20×10-4/K。分析表明,Bi的掺入能大大提高晶体的法拉第旋转角,而yb3+、Gd3+等离子的掺入可以有效降低Bi3+替代磁光单晶的法拉第旋转的温度灵敏性,Bi-HoYbiG和Bi-GdYIG等磁光晶体非常适合作为高灵敏度、温度稳定的光纤电流传感器中的法拉第转子材料。