Pulsed laser deposited YIG nanolayers on silicon for spintronic applications

Yttrium iron garnet (Y?Fe?O??, YIG) is a benchmark magnetic insulator that has attracted sustained interest for spintronic and magnonic applications due to its exceptionally low magnetic damping, high saturation magnetization, excellent microwave performance, and outstanding radiation stability. In addition, YIG exhibits a high Curie temperature and a simple cubic crystal structure, making it an ideal platform for low-loss spin-wave propagation and coherent spin transport. For practical implementation in next-generation spin-based and hybrid electronic devices, the integration of high-quality YIG thin films with semiconductor technology—particularly silicon—remains a critical materials challenge because of lattice mismatch, interfacial strain, and stringent phase-stability requirements. In the present work, YIG nanolayers were deposited on silicon substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) under carefully optimized growth conditions. High-density YIG targets were fabricated from powders synthesized via a citrate combustion route, employing stoichiometric metal nitrates and controlled thermal processing to ensure phase purity. Thin-film deposition was carried out at substrate temperatures in the range of 500–600°C under high vacuum, followed by in situ post-deposition annealing at 700°C to improve crystallinity and phase formation. X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the successful formation of the crystalline YIG phase on silicon substrates, with film thicknesses ranging from approximately 70 to 140 nm. A systematic investigation of the structural and magnetic properties of the deposited nanolayers is presented, with particular emphasis on the influence of deposition parameters on phase stabilization, crystallinity, and magnetic response. The results indicate that appropriate control of growth and annealing conditions enables the realization of magnetically functional YIG nanolayers on silicon. Overall, this study demonstrates a viable materials-processing route for integrating YIG nanolayers with silicon platforms. The findings are relevant for the development of silicon-compatible spintronic and magnonic devices and provide insights into the structure–property relationships governing garnet thin films grown on technologically important semiconductor substrates.