Determination of the ferrimagnetic precession cone of in-plane magnetized garnet films using optical modulation technique

Abstract

Magnetic garnet films of composition (A, Bi)(3)(Fe, B)(5) O-12 are grown by liquid phase epitaxy on [111] oriented substrates of Gd-3 Ga-5 O-12, where A=yttrium or lutetium and B=aluminum or gallium. The ferrimagnetic resonance (FMR) of in-plane magnetized films is studied by analyzing the modulation of light, which passes the film parallel to the film normal. Modulation efficiencies up to 1.8% at 2.9 GHz are observed at a wavelength of 0.633 mu m. From the measured modulation intensities the precession angles of the FMR are derived. The dependence of the precession cone on the excitation frequency or on the external induction shows a foldover effect which, however, is smaller than for the FMR of perpendicularly magnetized films. Maximum precession angles up to 14 degrees are achieved and the experiments indicate that saturation occurs. Light modulation is also observed at the first harmonic frequency, but the intensity is about 300 times weaker than at the fundamental frequency. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.