Sputter-induced composition effects on the magnetic and microstructure of NiFeCuMo permalloy thin films

Sputter-induced composition effects on the magnetic properties and microstructure of NiFeCuMo Permalloy under various conditions of sputtering has been investigated. The primary factor responsible for the sputter-induced composition effects is the substrate bias. The hard-axis initial permeability tends to increase to a maximum, then decreases as the bias is further increased. The experimental results indicate that Cu and Mo composition variations are mainly responsible for this dependence. The average grain size tends to decrease as the substrate bias increases initially and then increases as the bias is further increased.