Ultra-Soft and High Magnetic Moment NiFe Films Prepared via Electrodeposition from A Cu2+ Contained Solution

In this paper, a novel approach to fabricate ultra-soft magnetic NiFe films was reported. The films were prepared from a sulfate salt based solution containing a little quantity of Cu2+ additive via electrodeposition, which is well known as a cheap and simple way to prepare metal films. Atomic force microscopy showed that the film thickness ranged from tens of nanometers to micrometers. Magnetic characterization was performed using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and quantum design superconducting quantum interfaces device magnetometer (SQID). Results showed that the film possessed very soft magnetic property with an easy axis coercivity (Hce) and hard axis coercivity (Hch) no bigger than 0.15, 0.04 Oe, respectively. The film also had a high saturation magnetization of almost 1.65 T and good anisotropy.