Epitaxial growth of Ce substituted yttrium iron garnet film on Nd:YAG substrate

A 1-μm thick Ce substituted yttrium iron garnet film was grown on (111) Nd:YAG substrate directly via pulsed laser deposition method for integrated magnetooptical Q-switch lasers. Magnetization properties, structural analysis using x-ray diffractions, and magnetooptical properties were characterized. The film was oriented (111) direction, and the easy axis of magnetization was oriented for in-plane of the film. The film showed a large Faraday rotation angle of −0.05 deg/μm at the wavelength of 1064 nm.