Fe-Cr-Hf-N and Fe-Cr-Ta-N soft magnetic thin films

Author

Chen, L.H. ; Zhu, W. ; Tiefel, T.H. ; Jin, S. ; van Dover, R.B. ; Korenivski, V.

Author_Institution

Kaohsiung Polytech. Inst., Taiwan

Volume

33

Issue

5

fYear

1997

fDate

9/1/1997 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

3811

Lastpage

3813

Abstract

We have investigated the soft magnetic properties of new Fe-Cr-Hf-N and Fe-Cr-Ta-N alloy films. Thin films with compositions in the range of Fe-2~8%Cr-0~1%Hf (or Ta)-5~10%N (in atomic %) were prepared by reactive sputtering in a nitrogen-containing atmosphere. The films, most likely nanocrystalline, exhibit excellent soft magnetic properties in the as-deposited condition without any post-deposition heat treatment, e.g., H_c~1-2 Oe (79.4-158.8 A/m) and 4πM_s~15-20 kG. The magnetic properties are highly anisotropic in the film plane as the easy-axis M-H loop is square and the hard-axis loop is linear and closed, with the anisotropy field H_a=20-60 Oe (1.59-4.77 kA/m). The films exhibit excellent high frequency behavior even in the GHz frequency range which is attributed to the combination of high 4πM_s and relatively high H_a

Keywords

chromium alloys; ferromagnetic materials; hafnium alloys; iron alloys; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic hysteresis; magnetic permeability; magnetic thin films; soft magnetic materials; sputtered coatings; tantalum alloys; Fe-Cr-Hf-N; Fe-Cr-Ta-N; GHz frequency range; N₂-containing atmosphere; anisotropy field; easy-axis M-H loop; hard-axis loop; high frequency behavior; magnetic properties; nanocrystalline films; reactive sputtering; soft magnetic thin films; Frequency; Hafnium; Heat treatment; Magnetic films; Magnetic materials; Magnetic properties; Nitrogen; Saturation magnetization; Soft magnetic materials; Sputtering;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9464

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/20.619579

Filename

619579