A study of sputtering process for nanocrystalline FeAlN soft magnetic thin films

Nanocrystalline FeAlN thin films were successfully prepared by three ways: the growth of deposited nanocrystalline film by ex-situ process, in-situ process and controlling crystallization of deposited amorphous films. The magnetic properties and microstructure such as aspect and surface morphology were investigated. It is found that the FeAlN films by ex-situ process show the best soft magnetic properties: higher saturation and lower coercivity. The FeAlN films synthesized by controlling the crystallization of as-deposited amorphous films exhibit the highest thermal stability.