Anantharaman, M R; Pookat, G; Thomas, H; Thomas, S; Al-Harthi, S H; Raghavan, L; Al-Omari, I A; Sakthi Kumar, D; Ramanujan, R V(Elsevier, October 5, 2013)
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Abstract:
Ultra thin films based on CoFe were prepared from a composite target employing thermal evaporation. The
microstructure of the films was modified by thermal annealing. The relationship between microstructure and
magnetic properties of the films was investigated using techniques like glancing angle X-ray diffraction
(GXRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The GXRD and
TEM investigations showed an onset of crystallization of CoFe at around 373 K. The magnetic softness of the
films improved with thermal annealing but at higher annealing temperature it is found to be deteriorating.
Annealing inducedmodification of surface morphology of the alloy thin filmswas probed by atomic force microscopy
(AFM). Surface smoothening was observed with thermal annealing and the observed magnetic properties
correlate well with surface modifications induced by thermal annealing