Highly Textured FeCo Thin Films Deposited by Low Temperature Pulsed Laser Deposition

Abstract

The effect of the deposition temperature (Tdep) on the crystallographic orientation of pulsed laser-deposited FeCo/MgO(100) thin film was determined by means of X-ray reflectivity and high resolution trasmission electron microscopy analysis and was correlated with the magnetic anisotropy properties measured by angle dependent hysteresis loops. Highly textured films with a bcc structure and very smooth surface were obtained even at room temperature, the film being [100] and [110] oriented, at Tdep=25 °C and 150 °C, respectively. The cubic symmetry is reflected in the angular dependence of remanent magnetization, showing a 4-fold character, whose in-plane distribution is consistent with the different crystallographic orientations of the films. The high structural quality, even at room temperature, is reflected in a high value of the saturation magnetization and low coercivity, matching the requirements for technological applications.

Stress‐Induced Domain Wall Motion in FeCo‐Based Magnetic Microwires for Realization of Energy Harvesting

“…We observed that thin underlayers such as Co or Ni (≈3 nm) help in reducing the grain size and eventually chose CoNi underlayer to achieve the magnetic anisotropy. Figure e shows the hysteresis loop of a sample of the type “substrate/CoNi(3 nm)/FeCo(30 nm)/CoNi(3 nm).” In this structure, top CoNi layer was deposited to protect FeCo from getting oxidized . The bottom CoNi layer plays a crucial role in reducing the coercivity through a reduction of grain size.…”

“…In contrast, our simulation indicates that the presence of an anisotropy is a necessary condition to achieve stress-induced domain wall motion for harvesting energy. [40] The bottom CoNi layer plays a crucial role in reducing the coercivity through a reduction of grain size. Nevertheless, to achieve preferred anisotropy in the microwires, it was required that the coercivity must be considerably lower than the anisotropy field.…”

The role of chemical and microstructural inhomogeneities on interface magnetism

“…Instead of changing the composition of the compounds, similar effects may be achieved by modulating the deposition conditions. As an example, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a widely used fabrication techniques for producing high-quality thin solid films (high crystalline degree and extremely smooth surfaces) offering a great degree of flexibility in varying the different process parameters [63][64][65][66][67][68]. In this regard, the effect of the deposition temperature on the EB effect has been recently studied in pulsed laser deposited CoFe/NiO bilayers.…”

The Temperature-Dependent Microstructure and Magnetic Parameters of FeCo Films

“…Normally, magnetic films are fabricated through many techniques, including vacuum evaporation, 17 molecular beam epitaxy, 18 radio frequency-sputtering, 19,20 electroless-plating, 21,22 electrodeposition, 10,14,23,24 etc. Among the above mentioned methods, electrodeposition is one of the promising methods because of its low capital cost, high deposition rate and facile and reliable process control.…”