Liquid Phase Epitaxial Garnet Films for Magneto-Optic Indicators

Magnetooptic Indicator (MOI) garnet films are an important non-destructive tool for imaging magnetic domains in a wide variety of applications from basic research to quality control. To be effectively used they must be 1) optimized for individual applications using interactive feedback from users, 2) standardized to allow comparison of data, 3) improved in quality and process control and 4) made generally available in large film size. Integrated Photonics will apply its proprietary Liquid Phase Epitaxial (LPE) film growth technology to make planar bismuth-doped, rare-earth iron garnet films suitable for room temperature MOIs with high resolution, good gray-scale contrast and high sensitivity. The films will be coated with suitable mirror and passivation layers to form devices for domain visualization. Feedback from users will be utilized to optimize film properties with respect to applications. Initial investigations will begin on property variations necessary for improved low temperature operation.