Crystalographic Orientation of Continuously Sputtered Co-Cr Films

The dependence of film crystal orientation on film thickness for several Co-Cr films formed by dc planar magnetron sputtering with a variety of deposition mask arrangements was investigated. Special attention was paid to the initial layer. The dependence of magnetic properties on film thickness was found to be strongly influenced by the mask arrangement, especially by the distance between the mask edge and the roll, and by the initial incidence angle for the sputtered atoms. It was found that controlling these parameters properly is extremely important in continuous sputtering.