Compensated ferrimagnetism in Er-substituted yttrium iron garnets

Compensated ferrimagnets have attracted significant interest because their nearly zero net magnetization eliminates stray fields, enabling dense, interference-free integration of spintronic devices. So far, most research on compensated ferrimagnets has focused on thin films of ferrimagnetic alloys containing rare-earth and transition-metal elements. Here, we demonstrate that yttrium iron garnets with Er substitution, Y_3-xEr_xFe₅O₁₂, exhibit unique ferrimagnetic properties, with magnetization compensation points (MCPs) that can be modulated by Er contents. The Y_3-xEr_xFe₅O₁₂ shows ferrimagnetic behavior with nearly compensated magnetization near zero at T_MCP, which varies linearly with Er contents. Additionally, the temperature-dependent magnetic hysteresis of the Y_3-xEr_xFe₅O₁₂ taken near the T_MCP shows 40–100 times enhanced coercive fields. These newly discovered compensated ferrimagnetic behaviors in Er-yttrium iron garnet pave the way for the development of ultrafast, low-power spintronics devices that aim to utilize antiferromagnetically coupled spin sublattices.