Lattice-tunable substituted iron garnets for low-temperature magnonics
The synthesis of nm-thick epitaxial films of iron garnets by physical vapor deposition has opened up exciting opportunities for the on-chip generation and processing of microwave signals encoded in magnons. However, iron garnet thin films suffer from demanding lattice-matching and stoichiometry requirements. Here a new approach to their synthesis is developed, enabling a precise and continuous tuning of iron garnet compositions based on the co-sputtering of binary oxides. By substituting a controlled proportion of iron with additional yttrium, Y$_{3}$(Y$_{x}$Fe$_{5-x}$)O$_{12}$ films of high crystalline quality are obtained, combining a widely tunable lattice parameter and excellent magnetization dynamics. This enables iron garnet thin films suited for cryogenic applications, which have long remained impractical due to microwave losses caused by paramagnetic garnet substrates. Low-temperature ferromagnetic resonance confirms the elimination of substrate paramagnetic losses for Y$_{3}$(Y$_{x}$Fe$_{5-x}$)O$_{12}$ films lattice-matched to Y$_{3}$Sc$_{2}$Ga$_{3}$O$_{12}$ (YSGG), a diamagnetic substrate. The Y$_{3}$(Y$_{x}$Fe$_{5-x}$)O$_{12}$ system can be matched to other substrates such as (Gd,Y)$_{3}$Sc$_{2}$Ga$_{3}$O$_{12}$. Bi-substituted films of (Bi$_{0.8}$Y$_{2.2}$)Fe$_{5}$O$_{12}$ also have ideal lattice matching to YSGG, demonstrating the versatility of this approach. This opens unprecedented options for cation substitutions in iron garnet films, offering a promising avenue to new properties and quantum magnonic devices operating in low-temperature environments.