Role of gallium diffusion in the formation of a magnetically dead layer at Y3Fe5O12 / Gd3Ga5O12 epitaxial interface

Abstract

We have clarified the origin of magnetically dead interface layer formed in yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films grown at above 700°C onto gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) substrate by means of laser molecular beam epitaxy. The diffusion-assisted formation of a Ga-rich region at the YIG / GGG interface is demonstrated by means of composition depth profiling performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray and neutron reflectometry. Our finding is in sharp contrast to the earlier expressed assumption that Gd acts as a migrant element in the YIG/GGG system. We further correlate the presence of Ga-rich transition layer with considerable quenching of ferromagnetic resonance and spin wave propagation in thin YIG films. Finally, we clarify the origin of the enigmatic low-density overlayer that is often observed in neutron and X-ray reflectometry studies of the YIG / GGG epitaxial system.

19 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (4)

• Inverse Spin Hall Effect in nanometer-thick YIG/Pt system
• Sub-micrometer yttrium iron garnet LPE films with low ferromagnetic resonance losses
• Thickness and power dependence of the spin-pumping effect in Y3Fe5O12/Pt heterostructures measured by the inverse spin Hall effect
• Unexpected structural and magnetic depth dependence of YIG thin films

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• Large unidirectional spin Hall and Rashba-Edelstein magnetoresistance in topological insulator/magnetic insulator heterostructures
• Stabilization of $\epsilon$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$ epitaxial layer on MgO(111)/GaN via an intermediate $\gamma$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$-phase
• Ultrathin bismuth-yttrium iron garnet films with tunable magnetic anisotropy
• Structural peculiarities of $\epsilon$-Fe${}_2$O${}_3$ / GaN epitaxial layers unveiled by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and neutron reflectometry
• Single-crystalline YIG flakes with uniaxial in-plane anisotropy and diverse crystallographic orientations
• Cryogenic Magnetization Dynamics in Chemically Stabilized, Tensile-Strained Ultrathin Yttrium Iron Garnets with Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy