Thermal effect on the coercivity of ultrathin NiFe films

Author

Hou, C. ; Fujiwara, H. ; Klemmer, T.J. ; Metzger, R.M. ; Doyle, W.D.

Author_Institution

MINT Center, Alabama Univ., Tuscaloosa, AL, USA

Volume

33

Issue

5

fYear

1997

fDate

9/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

3625

Lastpage

3627

Abstract

The temperature dependence of the coercivity of ultrathin NiFe films was measured by a SQUID in the temperature range from 5 to 300 K. The change in coercivity with temperature was much greater for thinner films than for thicker ones. A domain wall motion model is proposed to explain the experimental results. It is concluded that the intrinsic coercivity increases rapidly with decreasing thickness, especially in the range of several nm, and that the low coercivity observed for very thin films at room temperature is ascribed primarily to the thermal effect

Keywords

coercive force; ferromagnetic materials; iron alloys; magnetic domain walls; magnetic thin films; magnetocaloric effects; nickel alloys; soft magnetic materials; sputtered coatings; 5 to 300 K; Ni₈₀Fe₂₀; NiFe; SQUID; coercivity; domain wall motion model; intrinsic coercivity; low coercivity; room temperature; soft magnetic layers; temperature dependence; temperature range; thermal effect; thickness; ultrathin NiFe films; Coercive force; Giant magnetoresistance; Glass; Magnetic properties; SQUIDs; Soft magnetic materials; Sputtering; Temperature dependence; Temperature distribution; Thickness measurement;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.619518

Filename

619518