Sputtered FeCoN soft magnetic thin films with high resistivity

Fe/sub 70/Co/sub 30/N thin films with thickness from 20 to 1100 (angstrom) were prepared by radio- frequency reactive sputtering in an N/sub 2/--Ar mixture. The FeCoN films prepared in a low nitrogen flow rate percentage (<6%) and sputtering pressure (<8 mTorr) have a high B/sub s/ of about 24.0 kG, but a moderate hard-axis coercivity H/sub ch/ of 5-30 Oe. With further increase in N/sub 2/ percentage or sputtering pressure, films become significantly softer, with H/sub ch/ of about 0.1-0.6 Oe, and have a higher resistivity of up to about 160 (mu)(Omega).cm. The change in the magnetic properties with nitrogen flow rate percentage and sputtering pressure can be attributed to the formation of an ultrafine grain size nanocrystalline FeCoN thin film as observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The soft properties of FeCoN films with nano-sized crystallites remain stable even after being annealed at 270(degree)C.