  We show tunable strain-induced perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) over a
wide range of thicknesses in epitaxial ferrimagnetic insulator Eu3Fe5O12 (EuIG)
and Tb3Fe5O12 (TbIG) thin films grown by pulsed-laser deposition on Gd3Ga5O12
with (001) and (111) orientations, respectively. The PMA field is determined by
measuring the induced anomalous Hall loops in Pt deposited on the garnet films.
Due to positive magnetostriction constants, compressive in-plane strain induces
a PMA field as large as 32.9 kOe for 4 nm thick EuIG and 66.7 kOe for 5 nm
thick TbIG at 300 K, and relaxes extremely slowly as the garnet film thickness
increases. In bilayers consisting of Pt and EuIG or Pt and TbIG, robust PMA is
revealed by squared anomalous Hall hysteresis loops in Pt, the magnitude of
which appears to be only related to the net magnetic moment of iron
sublattices. Furthermore, the magnetostriction constant is found to be
2.7x10^(-5) for EuIG and 1.35x10^(-5) for TbIG, comparable with the values for
bulk crystals. Our results demonstrate a general approach of tailoring magnetic
anisotropy of rare earth iron garnets by utilizing modulated strain via
epitaxial growth.
