Lateral solid phase epitaxy of yttrium iron garnet

Yttrium iron garnet (YIG) is a prototypical material in the fields of spintronics and magnonics due to its exceptional magnetic properties. However, up to now, the focus has been on planar YIG thin films owing to the challenges associated with manufacturing non-planar structures. Here, the authors demonstrate the fabrication of single crystalline YIG via lateral solid phase epitaxy on top of an artificially defined SiOₓ mesa over micrometer length scales. The reported results lay the foundation for the development of non-planar, epitaxial YIG thin films as well as free standing YIG structures, while still maintaining complete control over the crystal orientation.