Science Daily September 16, 2020
A team of researchers in the US (Michigan Technological University, Argonne National Laboratory) explain the quantum and crystallographic origins of a novel surface effect in nonreciprocal optics that improves the processing of optical signals. They found significant differences in the ionic structure between surface and bulk in bismuth-substituted iron garnet materials. They found that the unit cell is elongated normal to the surface, thus enlarging the separation between Fe3+ ions. These ions play a central role in the magneto-optic response of this material. A marked displacement of Fe ions creates gaps at the surface that are populated in the bulk. The new understanding of magneto-optic response provides a powerful tool for the further development of improved materials technologies to advance the integration of nonreciprocal devices in optical circuits…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Atomic arrangement in the iron garnet samples projected along the [001] zone axis… Credit: Optica Vol. 7, Issue 9, pp. 1038-1044 (2020)