Vacuum laser annealing of magnetooptical cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet films

Laser annealing in a vacuum chamber was employed to achieve the selective crystallization of a cerium-substituted yttrium iron garnet (Ce:YIG, Ce1Y2Fe5O12) film on a glass substrate. The film was selectively crystallized using a continuous-wave laser, and the transmissivity, optical constants, electronic binding states, magnetic properties, and magnetooptical properties of the fabricated Ce:YIG films were measured. A single Ce:YIG phase was observed using X-ray diffraction, and the film's magnetization was comparable to that of Ce:YIG prepared by heater annealing. Faraday rotation angles of 0.50°/μm and −0.25°/μm were obtained at wavelengths of 532 nm and 1064 nm, respectively.