  We study Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) flakes that we produce via mechanical cleaving and
exfoliation of YIG single crystals. By characterizing their structural and
magnetic properties, we find that these YIG nanoflakes have surfaces oriented
along unusual crystallographic axes and uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy
due to their shape, both of which are not commonly available in YIG thin films.
These physical properties, combined with the possibility of picking up the YIG
flakes and stacking them onto flakes of other van der Waals materials or
pre-patterned electrodes or waveguides, open unexplored possibilities for
magnonics and for the realization of novel YIG-based heterostructures and
devices.
