Rag-domain garnet films: Properties and applications

Recently, experimental and theoretical interest has been drawn to the propepties of magnetic domains in ferrimagnetic systems close to a compensation point. Because of their irregular initial shape and their high remanence, these domains have been named " rag-domains". For these studies, garnet films represent a convenient model system because of i) ease of preparation, ii) great variey of possible compositions, iii) good optical contrast between opposite domains, also at zero domain magnetization. Garnet films showing reg-domains at room temperature have been grown and proposed as basic materials for magnetic writing and magneto-optic displays. Some features like: large character size, better reading, easier writing and manipulation, constitute a considerable progress with respect to bubble-domain displays.