Magnetic properties of RF sputtered Fe(N)/NiFeCo(N) films

Author

Jones, R.E., Jr. ; Lo, J. ; Williams, J.L.

Author_Institution

Adstar-IBM, San Jose, CA, USA

Volume

29

Issue

6

fYear

1993

fDate

11/1/1993 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

3072

Lastpage

3074

Abstract

The magnetic properties of iron films can be made softer by depositing multilayers with NiFeCo and by adding nitrogen to the films. In both cases, the average grain size of the iron film is reduced. The anisotropy field, Hk, of Fe(N)/NiFeCo(N) films is shown to be a weighted average of the anisotropy fields of the constituent films, consistent with strong ferromagnetic coupling between the layers. Hk and the easy-axis coercivity, Hce, are significantly reduced by annealing. Both Hk and Hce increase with decreasing thickness below 0.5 μm. The saturation magnetostriction, λs, increases with annealing, indicating the growth of interdiffusion zones

Keywords

annealing; chemical interdiffusion; cobalt alloys; coercive force; ferromagnetic properties of substances; grain size; iron; iron alloys; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic thin films; magnetostriction; nickel alloys; nitrogen; sputtered coatings; anisotropy field; annealing; average grain size; constituent films; easy-axis coercivity; ferromagnetic coupling; growth; interdiffusion zones; magnetic properties; multilayers; radiofrequency sputtered Fe(N)-NiFeCo(N) films; saturation magnetostriction; thickness; weighted average; Anisotropic magnetoresistance; Annealing; Coercive force; Grain size; Iron; Magnetic films; Magnetic multilayers; Magnetic properties; Nitrogen; Radio frequency;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.280895

Filename

280895