Magnetic properties of Fe-Co nitride thin films

Fe-Co nitride thin films were prepared by the Ion Reacting Deposition (IRD) method. During the oblique incidence of Fe-Co alloy, a low energy nitrogen ion beam was directed at the substrate. Static magnetic measurements and Mössbauer spectroscopy were carried out on the prepared films. The saturation magnetization of the films increases with Co content. For instance, the Fe55-Co46nitride thin film has saturation magnetization of 480 emu/cc, coercive force of 950 Oe and the squareness ratio of 0.75. In the test of immerging films in a 5% saline solution for a month, little change was observed in the samples of the (Fe-Co)xN series. As a conclusion, the addition of Co to FexN could increase the saturation magnetization without deteriorating the corrosion-resistance or any other magnetic properties.