Synthesis of Fe16N2 films by using reactive plasma

The synthesis of α"-Fe₁₆N₂ films using reactive plasma is examined by conventional sputtering and plasma evaporation, respectively. Under controlled plasma (T_e=0.2~0.6 eV, N_e≃10⁹ cm^-3 ) α"-Fe₁₆N₂ films are synthesized on MgO single crystal substrates with film thicknesses ranging from 0.03 to 1 μm for sputtering and 0.2 μm for plasma evaporation. The deposition rate is 200 Å/min for sputtering and 100~420 Å/mn for plasma evaporation. σ_s for α"-Fe₁₆N₂ films fabricated by plasma evaporation shows 235 emu/g and for the sputtered films shows 218 emu/g. These values are very small compared to the earlier reported value, 2.9 T (310 emu/g). The effects of ordering of N atoms in BCT lattice and the volume effect of unit cell are discussed in connection with σ_s