Single-crystalline YIG flakes with uniaxial in-plane anisotropy and diverse crystallographic orientations

TL;DR

This study reports the production and characterization of single-crystalline YIG flakes with unique crystallographic orientations and uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy, enabling new possibilities in magnonics and heterostructure fabrication.

Contribution

It introduces a method to produce YIG nanoflakes with unusual surface orientations and magnetic properties, expanding the potential for YIG-based device applications.

Findings

YIG nanoflakes have surfaces along unusual crystallographic axes.

They exhibit uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy.

Potential for stacking with other 2D materials for novel devices.

Abstract

We study Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) flakes that we produce via mechanical cleaving and exfoliation of YIG single crystals. By characterizing their structural and magnetic properties, we find that these YIG nanoflakes have surfaces oriented along unusual crystallographic axes and uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy due to their shape, both of which are not commonly available in YIG thin films. These physical properties, combined with the possibility of picking up the YIG flakes and stacking them onto flakes of other van der Waals materials or pre-patterned electrodes or waveguides, open unexplored possibilities for magnonics and for the realization of novel YIG-based heterostructures and devices.