Single crystal YIG nanofilm fabricated by a metal organic decomposition epitaxial growth process

A metallic organic decomposition (MOD) epitaxial growth process for making a Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) nanofilm, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a GGG(111) substrate having a substantially planar substrate surface;
• (b) coating the GGG(111) substrate surface with a precursor liquid mixture consisting of yttrium oxide, iron oxide, one or more acids, and one or more organic substances;
• (c) evenly distributing the precursor liquid mixture across the GGG(111) substrate surface;
• (d) drying the precursor liquid on the crystalline substrate surface to form a thin film YIG layer;
• (e) crystallizing the thin film YIG layer at high temperature in an annealing furnace such that in a single process the YIG layer is pyrolyzed to remove all organic material, annealed to remove any remaining organic material, and crystallize the YIG layer such that the elemental meal atoms of the YIG lattice combine with oxygen atoms to form a single crystal YIG film according to the lattice pattern of the substantially identical GGG(111) substrate;
• and
• further including the step of repeating (b) through (e) to make a YIG nanofilm having multiple layers, wherein steps (c) and (d) involve using a previously crystallized layer of YIG nanofilm as the substrate surface.

A metallic organic decomposition (MOD) epitaxial growth process for making a Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) nanofilm, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) providing a GGG(111) substrate having a substantially planar substrate surface;
• (b) coating the GGG(111) substrate surface with a precursor liquid mixture consisting of yttrium oxide, iron oxide, one or more acids, and one or more organic substances;
• (c) evenly distributing the precursor liquid mixture across the GGG(111) substrate surface;
• (d) drying the precursor liquid on the crystalline substrate surface to form a thin film YIG layer;
• (e) crystallizing the thin film YIG layer at high temperature in an annealing furnace such that in a single process the YIG layer is pyrolyzed to remove all organic material, annealed to remove any remaining organic material, and crystallize the YIG layer such that the elemental meal atoms of the YIG lattice combine with oxygen atoms to form a single crystal YIG film according to the lattice pattern of the substantially identical GGG(111) substrate;
• and
• wherein after a first crystallization step (e), the method further includes repeating steps (b) through (d) to make a YIG nanofilm having multiple layers, wherein steps (c) and (d) involve using a previously dried layer of YIG nanofilm as the substrate surface, and after a predetermined number of layers have been deposited and dried, a final crystallization step (e) is performed to merge all layers into a single crystal layer.