Deposition and characterization of magnetic Ti-Fe-C nanocomposite thin films

Nanocomposite (Ti_1−xFe_x)C_y films with different compositions have been deposited by dc magnetron sputtering at 450 °C. The sputtered films could dissolve as much as 20-30 at.% of Fe on the Ti sites which is far above the maximum solid solubility at equilibrium. The solubility was dependent on the carbon content and more carbon-rich films could dissolve more Fe without the formation of Fe-precipitates. The addition of Fe also reduced the grain size of the carbide particles. Upon annealing, α-Fe starts to precipitate and the amount and size of these precipitates can be controlled by the annealing procedure and from the total composition of the as-deposited films. Mechanical and tribological studies show that some compositions of the (Ti_1−xFe_x)C_y films have very good wear-resistant properties. These results together with magnetization measurements suggest that Ti-Fe-C films can be used as a wear-resistant magnetic thin film material.     

In-plane magnetic anisotropy in RF sputtered Fe---N thin films

We have fabricated Fe(N) thin films with varied N₂ partial pressure and studied the microstructure, morphology, magnetic properties and resistivity by using X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating-sample magnetometer and angle-resolved M-H hysteresis Loop tracer and standard four-point probe method. In the presence of low N₂ partial pressure, Fe(N) films showed a basic bcc -Fe structure with a preferred (110) texture. A variation of in-plane magnetic anisotropy of the Fe(N) films was observed with the changing of N component. The evolution of in-plane anisotropy in the films was attributed to the directional order mechanism. Nitrogen atoms play an important role in refining the -Fe grains and inducing uniaxial anisotropy.     

Fabrication and characterization of thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for high-density magnetic recording

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was first observed in thin films of cobalt-chromium alloys in 1974, and perpendicular magnetic recording was proposed in 1977. After less than ten years, a new technology for high-density magnetic recording is firmly established. This breakthrough of the science and technology of magnetic recording has been made possible mainly through the ingenuity and concerted efforts of Iwasaki and other researchers. The preparation, characterization, and application of the Co-Cr films featuring PMA have been extensively studied. This paper reviews the large number of reports on PMA films with emphasis in three areas: (1) processing of PMA films; (2) correlation of magnetic properties and microstructures of PMA films; and (3) state-of-the-art techniques for fabricating PMA films.Nomenclature PMA Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy - PMR Perpendicular magnetic recording - B Magnetic induction - H Magnetic field - H _c Coercivity - H _c, Perpendicular coercivity - H _d Demagnetizing field - H _K Anisotropy field - H Perpendicular anisotropy constant - M _r Remanent magnetization - M _s Saturation magnetization - P _Ar Argon pressure - T _s Substrate temperature - V _b Substrate bias voltage - Incidence angle - ₅₀ Half-width dispersion angle in the rocking curve - _c Curie temperature - _o Internal stress     

Fabrication and characterization of thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for high-density magnetic recording

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was first observed in thin films of cobalt-chromium alloys in 1974, and perpendicular magnetic recording was proposed in 1977. After less than ten years, a new technology for high-density magnetic recording is firmly established. This breakthrough of the science and technology of magnetic recording has been made possible mainly through the ingenuity and concerted efforts of researchers. The preparation, characterization, and application of the Co-Cr films featuring PMA have been extensively studied. This paper reviews the large number of reports on PMA films with emphasis on three areas: 1. processing of PMA films; 2. correlation of magnetic properties and microstructures of PMA films; and 3. state-of-art techniques for fabricating PMA films.Nomenclature PMA Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy - PMR Perpendicular magnetic recording - B Magnetic induction - H Magnetic field - H _c Coercivity - H _c, Perpendicular coercivity - H _d Demagnetizing field - H _k Anisotropy field - H Perpendicular anisotropy constant - M _r Remanent magnetization - M_s Saturation magnetization - P _Ar Argon pressure - T _s Substrate temperature - V _b Substrate bias voltage - Incidence angle - ₅₀ Half-width dispersion angle in the rocking curve - _c Curie temperature - ₀ Internal stress     

Oblique-field annealing effect for in-plane magnetic anisotropy ofsoft magnetic Co-Nb-Zr thin films

The effect of annealing in a magnetic field applied obliquely to the surface of soft magnetic thin films has been investigated. This annealing method was found to be extremely effective to control in-plane magnetic anisotropy without a change of annealing temperature and to suppress local anisotropy dispersion. For sputtered amorphous Co_85.5Nb_8.9Zr_5.6 thin films, it has been found that the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy energy was varied from 250 J/m³ to near zero with the coercive force H_c less than 6.5 A/m by changing the oblique-field annealing angle α. Experimental values of in-plane anisotropy energy agreed well with calculated ones predicted from α and intrinsic anisotropy induced by quasi-directional ordering. These films showed good high frequency characteristics for applying to miniaturized inductive devices     

The measurement of the anisotropy field of cylindrical thin magnetic films

The described method for the anisotropy field measurement uses two fields HLand HT. The deviation of magnetization from the easy direction, and hence also sense signals, are proportional to these fields. The ratio of two integrated sense signals atH_{L} = 0andH_{L} neq 0reaches a certain value (∼ 2.5) with fieldH_{T} = H_{k}. In this way, Hkmay be measured by a device designed for the coercive force measurement.     

Effect of magnetic anisotropy on the mobility of the boundaries in thin magnetic films

This paper discusses the effect of magnetic crystallographic anisotropy on the mobility of the domain walls in thin magnetic films with an easy axis in the plane of the film. It shows that the stable configuration of a domain wall is a single-vortex Bloch domain wall. Besides this, there are two metastable states of the domain wall—a Néel domain wall and a domain wall with two magnetic vortices along the normal to the plane of the film. It is also shown that the mobilities of the single-vortex and Néel domain walls and the domain wall with two vortices decrease as the anisotropy constant increases and tend to the same value. Pis’ma Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 24, 42–46 (January 26, 1998)     

Domain splitting in thin films with in-plane anisotropy

Splitting of magnetic ripple into domains due to an external magnetic field was observed using the defocused electron microscopy method. The tested film was magnetized perpendicularly or parallel to the easy axis of the uniaxial anisotropy, and both the magnetic field direction and the anisotropy axis lay in the film plane. Splitting of the ripple into 1 μm domains was mainly reversible until the value of ripple amplitude reached 0.5 rad. Movements of the Néel walls and Néel-Bloch-Néel transformation of the domain walls were the main irreversible phenomena which led to hysteresis. Domain splitting of the ripple is properly described only by a Riedel model which includes the interactions between cores and tails of the periodically arranged Néel walls.     

退火及成分对Co-C纳米复合薄膜磁性能的影响

用磁控溅射方法制备了Co含量介于13.0%～24.6%（原子分数）的Co-C纳米复合薄膜,在真空下对薄膜进行退火处理。测试了样品在5、77和300K下的磁化曲线,详细研究了退火及成分对薄膜微结构和磁性能的影响。结果表明未经退火的样品磁性较弱,退火之后样品磁性能增强,低Co含量的薄膜经退火后呈现出低温铁磁性、室温超顺磁性的颗粒薄膜特征。随着Co含量增加,薄膜的磁化强度和矫顽力均明显增大,冻结温度也随之升高。     

Models of the longitudinal digital magnetic recording process in thin films

A review of the various mathematical models of the longitudinal recording process in thin-film recording media is given. One of the main focuses of the review is on the arctangent theories of recording, and these are discussed in terms of both their successes and their failures. More recent work shows an increasing trend towards determining the nature of the recorded distributions directly from the calculations.<>     

Mechanical properties of nanocomposite thin films

The mechanical properties of nanocomposite thin films are reviewed. Two types of films are considered: artificially multilayered thin films and granular metal thin films. Artificially multilayered thin films, which are composed of alternating layers of two different materials, can display variations (reductions or enhancements) of the order of 15 to 30% in their elastic behavior as the bilayer repeat length is reduced below about 5 nm. Significant enhancements in the hardness of these materials are also observed for this range of bilayer repeat length. Granular metal films, which are composed of a thin film ceramic matrix embedded with metal granules of diameters as small as a few nanometers, display novel behavior in their hardness and apparent elastic behavior as measured by low-load indentation methods. This appears to be correlated with the percolation threshold of the metal.     

Biocompatibility of diamond-like nanocomposite thin films

Diamond-like nanocomposite (DLN) films consist of network structure of amorphous carbon and quartz like silicon. In the present work, DLN films have been synthesized on pyrex glass and subsequently, their biocompatibility have been investigated through primary and secondary cell adhesion, cytotoxicity, protein adsorption and murine peritoneal macrophage activation experiments. Variable degree of cell and protein response have been found based on variable film synthesis parameters but in overall, required biocompatibility has been established for all types of film-coating.     

Frequency response of thin film heads with longitudinal andtransverse anisotropy

A transmission surface model (TSM) that analyzes the conduction of flux by rotation and wall motion is reported. It has been used to quantitatively compare the predicted performance of thin-film heads with longitudinal and transverse magnetic anisotropy. The TSM analysis predicts that a transversely oriented type of thin-film head can be operated at much higher frequencies than a longitudinally oriented head. In addition, its group delay dispersion is much less. Finally, its susceptibility to wall pinning is an order of magnitude less. Therefore, it is concluded that the traditional aversion of head designers to the longitudinal orientation is justified for frequencies above several megahertz     

Transparent high refractive index nanocomposite thin films

This work reports the preparation of acetic acid-modified TiO₂ nanoparticles by sol–gel synthesis method. The nanoparticles can be incorporated directly into the polymer matrix to form transparent high refractive index nanocomposite thin films. The result shows that increasing the titania content in the hybrid nanocomposite thin films can significantly increase the refractive index. Hybrid nanocomposite thin film with refractive index value of 2.38 had been prepared. All prepared films also exhibit excellent optical transparency in the visible region.     

Perpendicular anisotropy of evaporated magnetic films

Evidence of the existence of origins of perpendicular anisotropy other than the ordinary magnetostrictive effect is presented with a brief review of other studies. As one of these origins, the effect of the grain boundaries or the microscopic shape effect is discussed. The amount of perpendicular anisotropy observed in the stripped films does not seem capable of explanation by this effect only.     

Optical switch from silver nanocomposite thin films

Silver nanoparticles capped with sodium alginate were assembled into thin films by using the layer-by-layer dipping technique. Composite films were built by sequential dipping of a glass slide in either anionic alginate capped nanoparticles or cationic Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The growth of the film was characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy by monitoring the increase in absorbance at 420 nm which correspond to the silver nanoparticles plasmon band. The final films formed onto glass slides displayed and interesting color shift upon exposure to water or to a less polar solvent such as ethanol. In this research, changes in spectral absorbance of the nanoparticles film were monitored as a function of ethanol content (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) in water. The color shift from yellow to red color was explained by the changes in the dielectric constant of the silver nanoparticles surrounding medium which induce a shift in their plasmon band absorbance. These composite thin films displayed fast color change and could therefore be used in sensing application as well as for optical switches.     

Thickness dependence of microstructures and magnetic properties for CoPt/Ag nanocomposite thin films

Ag underlayer (30 nm) has improved the degree of ordering and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of CoPt films (7.5-10 nm). After annealing at 600 °C and 700 °C, the perpendicular coercivity of CoPt/Ag films has been raised as the thicknesses of CoPt layers are increased. The magnetic easy axis of CoPt/Ag films would change from a random orientation to an out-of-plane orientation. It is found that Ag underlayer with thickness of 30 nm can improve the perpendicular magnetic properties of CoPt layers with thicknesses in the range of 7.5-10 nm. The CoPt/Ag films would be a candidate for perpendicular magnetic recording media.     

Effect of Ag underlayer on microstructures and perpendicular magnetic properties of CoPt nanocomposite thin films

CoPt/Ag films were prepared by magnetron sputtering on glass substrates and subsequent annealing. The dependence of degree of ordering and magnetic properties on Ag film thickness and annealing conditions were investigated. It was found that the Ag underlayer played a dominant role in inducing the (001) texture of the CoPt film after annealing. CoPt films with a thickness about 20 nm and Ag underlayers with a thickness about 70 nm are easy to obtain a large degree of ordering and a perpendicular magnetic anisotropy after annealing at 700 degrees C for 30 min. CoPt/Ag films with out-of-plane coercivity (Hc (perpendicular)) in the range of 13.5-14.0 kOe and a out-of-plane squareness (S(perpendicular)) of 0.97 were obtained after annealing at 700 degrees C for 30 min. Ag underlayer is beneficial to enhance the Hc(perpendicular)and S(perpendicular) of CoPt film significantly. The degree of ordering and perpendicular magnetic properties of the CoPt films which deposited on Ag underlayer are larger than those of the single layer CoPt films.