Growth control of homogeneous pulsed electrodeposited Co thin films on n-doped Si(1 1 1) substrates

Cobalt thin films were deposited by pulsed electrodeposition on n-doped silicon substrates. We show that the morphology and the magnetic properties of the samples can be controlled by a careful choice of the deposition conditions. Atomic force microscopy measurements reveal a granular growth with grain size and homogeneity strongly dependent on the total deposition time and pulse frequency of the applied signal. Magnetic force microscopy and magnetization measurements indicate the formation of magnetically correlated grain systems with a maximum magnetic correlation and homogeneity for samples with grain diameters of about 40 nm.