Structural and magnetic properties of Co-C composite films and Co/C multilayer films

CoC composite films and Co/C multilayer films have been prepared by a method incorporating ion beam sputtering and plasma chemical vapor deposition. It has been found that the structure and magnetic properties of both the Co-C composite and the Co/C multilayer films depend strongly on the substrate temperature during deposition. The Co-C composite film deposited at room temperature is amorphous, with relatively low saturation magnetization and coercivity. On the other hand, the film deposited at 250 °C is composed of fine Co crystallites separated by amorphous C or Co-C phase. As a result, both the saturation magnetization and coercivity are increased compared with the film deposited at room temperature. When deposited at room temperature, the Co/C multilayer film exhibits good periodicity, with a period of 70 nm (Co: 40 nm, C: 30 nm) and sharp and flat Co-C interfaces. High magnetization (602 emu/cm³) and low coercivity (1.6 Oe) are obtained for such a film. However, increasing the substrate temperature to 250 °C was found to be detrimental to the magnetic properties due to the formation of cobalt carbide at the Co-C interface. Received: 11 July 2000 / Accepted: 13 July 2000 / Published online: 30 November 2000