Cryogenic Magnetization Dynamics in Chemically Stabilized, Tensile-Strained Ultrathin Yttrium Iron Garnets with Tunable Magnetic Anisotropy

Abstract

We report an interfacial chemical stability-driven reduction of low-temperature damping losses in tensile-strained, ultrathin Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) films grown by pulsed laser deposition, exhibiting ultralow damping constants and tunable magnetic anisotropy. Comparative broadband FMR measurements show that tensile-strained YIG films on Gd3Sc2Ga3O12 (GSGG) retain measurable damping even at nanometer thicknesses and cryogenic temperatures down to 2 K, outperforming relaxed films on Gd3Ga5O12. Based on static magnetometry measurements along with microstructural and compositional analyses, we attribute these enhanced dynamic properties to the suppression of interdiffusion across the YIG/GSGG interface, resulting from enhanced chemical stability and favorable growth kinetics by the presence of Sc. Our findings highlight the importance of chemical and kinetic factors in achieving few-nanometer-thick YIG film with negligible low-temperature damping dissipation and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for cryogenic spintronic applications.