Annealing effect on the microstructural and magnetic properties of Er2.5Y0.5Fe5O12 films prepared by sol-gel method

The effect of annealing on the microstructural and magnetic properties of Er2.5Y0.5Fe5O12 sol-gel films were studied at different temperatures using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopic (FESEM) and vibration sample magnetometer (VSM).The results show that the XRD pattern of the samples have a single phase garnet structure with reduction in the lattice parameter of Er:YIG films due to the smaller ionic radii of Er3+ compare to Y3+. The sizes of the particles are in the range of 50 to 90 nm. The saturation magnetization (Ms) increase and then decreases as the temperature increased