Magnetic films were produced by ultrashort pulsed laser deposition
(uPLD) using a rotating multitarget of terfenol-D (nominal composition:
Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2) and iron. The composite films obtained have a nanoparticle morphology typical
of material produced by the uPLD technique, where each particle retains the
stoichiometry of the parent target material. The co-deposition allows the production of
(Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2)100−xFex films,
where x
can range from 0% to 100%. Unlike films obtained by standard nanosecond PLD, pure terfenol-D
layers (x = 0)
are amorphous, while the addition of iron induces the formation of Fe crystalline
nanoparticles inside an amorphous nanogranular matrix of terfenol-D. The magnetic
properties depend on the nanoparticle morphology and more strictly on the fraction of iron
particles. In particular, it was demonstrated that the exchange interaction between hard
magnetic terfenol-D nanoparticles and iron nanoparticles is active in the uPLD films, giving
a cumulative magnetic response resulting from an averaging of the properties of the two
component phases.