Effects of Substrate Bias on the Structrue and Magnetic Properties Of Sputtered TbFe Films

The substrate bias voltage and Ar pressure were varied during RF diode sputtering of TbFe films, to study the influence of these parameters on the film perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Ar pressures were 10 and 30 mTorr, and bias voltages ranged from 0 to -350 V. Depending on both the Ar pressure and bias voltage, film structures varied from coarse to fine, with columnar structures appearing and disappearing, and the Ku value was related to the microstructure. Attempts were made to explain these dependences.