Magnetic exchange bias enhancement through seed layer variation in FeMn/NiFe layered structures

The exchange bias and crystalline texture of the multilayer structure (Ta/Al/seed/Fe₅₀Mn₅₀/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Al₂O₃/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Al/Ta with seed=Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ or Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Cu) has been characterized. Measurements indicate an abrupt decrease in exchange bias of the Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ pinned layer for samples with very thin seed layers, and exchange bias as high as 325 Oe for thicker seed layers. Fluctuation of exchange bias with thickness was greatly reduced for the Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Cu seed configuration. X-ray diffraction measurements demonstrate a correlation between exchange bias and strong (1 1 1) texture of FeMn. The results suggest a high sensitivity of Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ roughness and texture on deposition conditions, and corroborate previous observations of roughness in ultrathin NiFe films.     

A study of the properties and microstructure of Ni81Fe19 ultrathin films with MgO

The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of a Ta (5 nm)/MgO (3 nm)/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ (10 nm)/MgO (2 nm)/Ta (3 nm) film with MgO-Nano Oxide Layer (NOL) increases dramatically from 1.05% to 3.24% compared with a Ta (5 nm)/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ (10 nm)/Ta (3 nm) film without the MgO-NOL layer after annealing at 380 °C for 2 h. Although the MgO destroys the NiFe (1 1 1) texture, it enhances the specular electron scattering of the conduction electrons at the NOL interface and suppresses the interface reactions and diffusion at the Ta/NiFe and NiFe/Ta interfaces. The NiFe (1 1 1) texture was formed after the annealing, resulting in a higher AMR ratio. X-ray photoelectron spectroscope results show that Mg and Mg²⁺ were present in the MgO_x films.     

Thickness-dependent magnetic properties of Ni81Fe19, Co90Fe10 and Ni65Fe15Co20 thin films

We present results of magnetization and magnetic anisotropy measurements in thin magnetic films of the alloys Ni₈₁Fe₁₉, Co₉₀Fe₁₀ and Ni₆₅Fe₁₅Co₂₀ that are commonly used in magnetoelectronic devices. The films were sandwiched between layers of Ta. At room temperature the critical thickness for all the films to become ferromagnetic is in the range 11–13 Å. In Co₉₀Fe₁₀ the coercivity and the anisotropy field both depend strongly on layer thickness.     

Effect of Ta buffer and NiFe seed layers on pulsed-DC magnetron sputtered Ir20Mn80/Co90Fe10 exchange bias

A systematic investigation has been done on the correlation between texture, grain size evolution and magnetic properties in Ta/Ni₈₁Fe₁₉/Ir₂₀Mn₈₀/Co₉₀Fe₁₀/Ta exchange bias in dependence of Ta buffer and NiFe seed layer thickness in the range of 2-10 nm, deposited by pulsed DC magnetron sputtering technique. A strong dependence of 〈1 1 1〉 texture on the Ta/NiFe thicknesses was found, where the reducing and increasing texture was correlated with exchange bias field and unidirectional anisotropy energy constant at both NiFe/IrMn and IrMn/CoFe interfaces. However, a direct correlation between average grain size in IrMn and H_ex and H_c was not observed. L1₂ phase IrMn₃ could be formed by thickness optimization of Ta/NiFe layers by deposition at room temperature, for which the maximum exchange coupling parameters were achieved. We conclude finally that the coercivity is mainly influenced by texture induced interfacial effects at NiFe/IrMn/CoFe interfaces developing with Ta/NiFe thicknesses.     

Planar Hall effect and magnetoresistance in Ni81Fe19 and Co square shaped thin films

Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ and Co thin films have been fabricated and their transport properties have been investigated for potential applications in ultra sensitive magnetic field sensors. The Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ films exhibit an anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of 2.5% with a coercivity 2.5 Oe and the Co films exhibit an AMR of 0.7% with coercivity 11 Oe. Large planar Hall effect magnetoresistance values at room temperature are reported for both cases. An unbalanced Wheatstone bridge model is proposed to describe quantitatively the observed experimental Planar Hall Effect data.     

Ta/Ni/Ta multilayered ohmic contacts on n-type SiC

The interface formation, electrical properties and the surface morphology of multilayered Ta/Ni/Ta/SiC contacts were reported in this study. It was found that the conducting behavior of the contacts so fabricated is much dependent on the metal layer thickness and the subsequent annealing temperature. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) and X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that Ni₂Si and TaC formed as a result of the annealing. The Ni atoms diffused downward to metal/SiC interface and converted into Ni₂Si layer in adjacent to the SiC substrate. The released carbon atoms reacted with Ta atoms to form TaC layer. Ohmic contacts with specific contact resistivity as low as 3 × 10⁻⁴ Ω cm² have been achieved after thermal annealing. The formation of carbon vacancies at the Ni₂Si/SiC interface, probably created by dissociation of SiC and formation of TaC during thermal annealing, should be responsible for the ohmic formation of the annealed Ta/Ni/Ta contacts. The addition of Ta into the Ni metallization scheme to n-SiC restricted the accumulation of carbon atoms left behind during Ni₂Si formation, improving the electrical and microstructure properties.     

Acquisition of vector hysteresis loops from micro-arrays of nano-magnets

A modified scanning Kerr microscope has been used as a static Kerr magnetometer to acquire in-plane vector hysteresis loops from square Si/Ta(50 Å)/Co₈₀Fe₂₀(40 Å)/Ni₈₈Fe₁₂(108 Å)/Ta(100 Å) elements with size ranging from 123 nm to 10 μm. The nanoscale elements were arranged in square arrays of 4 μm size. The laser beam was focused to a sub-micron spot, while polarization changes were recorded with an optical bridge detector containing a beam-splitting polarizer and two quadrant photodiodes. The coercive field exhibited a non-monotonic increase from 11 Oe in the 10 μm element to 170 Oe in the 123 nm elements. Loops acquired with the field applied parallel to the easy and hard in-plane uniaxial anisotropy axes were observed to become more similar in shape as the element size decreased.     

Magnetic structures in Ni80Fe20/Ru multilayers

Using polarized neutron reflectivity (PNR) measurements together with associated simulation, magnetic structures of two Ni₈₀Fe₂₀ (1 1 1)/Ru (0 0 0 1) multilayer samples with Ru thickness of 9 and 21 Å were investigated under various external magnetic fields at room temperature. The results reveal the existence of layer thickness, interface roughness, magnetic moment, interlayer coupling angle and non-collinear coupling. The former three are independent of Ru thickness; while the latter two are strongly dependent of Ru thickness.     

TaN underlayers for spin valves deposited directly on top of Si substrates

TaN underlayers for spin valves were studied, which were deposited directly on top of Si substrates. The experimental results obtained with the TaN underlayer were compared with those obtained with other (Ta, Mo, and MoN) underlayers. The spin valve structure was Si/Underlayer(tÅ)/NiFe(21 Å)/CoFe(28 Å)/Cu(22 Å)/CoFe(18 Å)/IrMn(65 Å)/Ta(25 Å). The TaN underlayer for a spin valve element exhibited good adhesion to the Si substrate. The XRD patterns of the annealed TaN on bare Si substrate at 900 °C showed no Ta silicide phases, which suggests that the TaN layer may also be used as a diffusion barrier between Si substrate and the ensuing spin valve active layers, as well as an underlayer. A spin valve element having TaN underlayer deposited directly on top of a Si substrate showed a high MR ratio of about 8.3% after annealing at 200 °C. It is concluded that it is advantageous to use a TaN underlayer if one wants to fabricate spin valve elements directly on top of Si substrates.     

Reactivities of ultrathin alumina films exposed to intermediate pressures of H2O: Substrate-mediated mechanism for growth and loss of surface order

The response of ordered ultrathin Al₂O₃ films on NiAl(1 1 0) and Ni₃Al(1 1 0) substrates to sequential exposures at varying pressures of H₂O between 10⁻⁷ Torr and 10⁻³ Torr, ambient temperature, was characterized by LEED, AES and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In all cases, an increase in average oxide thickness, as determined by AES, was observed, consistent with a field-induced oxide growth mechanism. Ordered oxide films of initial average thicknesses of 7 Å and 12 Å grown on NiAl(1 1 0) achieved a limiting thickness of 17(1) Å, while films of initial thickness of 7 Å and 11 Å grown on Ni₃Al(1 1 0) achieved a limiting thickness of 12(1) Å. The LEED patterns for the thinner (7 Å) films were not observed after exposure to 10⁻⁵ Torr (NiAl(1 1 0)), or 10⁻⁴ Torr (Ni₃Al(1 1 0)). In contrast, LEED patterns for the films of greater initial thickness persisted after exposures to 10⁻³ Torr UHV. DFT calculations indicate an Al vacancy formation energy that is significantly greater (by ∼0.5 eV) on the surface that has the thicker oxide film, directly opposite to what may be naively expected. A simple coordination argument supports these numerical results. Therefore, the greater limiting oxide thickness observed on NiAl(1 1 0) demonstrates that the rate determining step in the oxide growth process is not Al removal from the metal substrate and transport across the oxide/metal interface. Instead, the results indicate that the determining factor in the oxide growth mechanism is the kinetic barrier to Al diffusion from the substrate bulk to the oxide/metal interface. The persistence of the LEED patterns observed for the films of greater initial oxide thickness indicates that the surface disorder generally observed for alumina films grown on aluminide substrates and exposed to intermediate pressures of H₂O is due to the growth of a disordered alumina layer over an ordered substrate, rather than to direct H₂O interaction with terrace sites.     

Synchrotron radiation and polarized neutron study of the enhancement of orbital magnetic moment of Fe in the epitaxial NiFe/Ru multilayer

Epitaxial Ni₈₀Fe₂₀(5 nm)/Ru(x nm)/Ni₈₀Fe₂₀(5 nm) trilayers with thickness x = 0.5-3.0 were prepared on Al₂O₃ substrate. The structure, magnetic properties and magnetic depth profiles of the epitaxial Ni₈₀Fe₂₀(1 1 1)/Ru(0 0 0 1) multilayers were studied by X-ray diffraction, X-ray magnetic circular dichroism and polarized neutron reflectivity. A strongly enhanced orbital moment of Fe in the permalloy layer was observed at the Ru thickness of the first anti-ferromagnetic coupling, which might be due to an interference between two interfaces. At this Ru thickness, the neutron reflectivity data show a 0.8 nm layer at the interface with the magnetic moment perpendicular to the surface plane, which might be due to the enhanced spin-orbital coupling at interface.     

Epitaxial strain-induced magnetic anisotropy in Sm3Fe5O12 thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Sm₃Fe₅O₁₂ thin films of various thicknesses were grown on a (0 0 1)-oriented Gd₃Ga₅O₁₂ substrate by pulsed laser deposition. The crystal structure of the films was strongly dependent on film thickness. The lattice was strained for thinner films due to a lattice mismatch between the film and substrate. This lattice strain was relaxed when the film thickness exceeded a critical thickness of around 660 Å. It is suggested that the epitaxial strain induces uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with an out-of-plane magnetic easy axis.     

Controlled fabrication of nano-scale double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions using focused ion beam milling method

The controlled fabrication method for nano-scale double barrier magnetic tunnel junctions (DBMTJs) with the layer structure of Ta(5)/Cu(10)/Ni₇₉Fe₂₁(5)/Ir₂₂Mn₇₈(12)/Co₆₀Fe₂₀B₂₀(4)/Al(1)–oxide/Co₆₀Fe₂₀B₂₀(6)/Al(1)–oxide/Co₆₀Fe₂₀B₂₀(4)/Ir₂₂Mn₇₈(12)/Ni₇₉Fe₂₁(5)/Ta(5) (thickness unit: nm) was used. This method involved depositing thin multi-layer stacks by sputtering system, and depositing a Pt nano-pillar using a focused ion beam which acted both as a top contact and as an etching mask. The advantages of this process over the traditional process using e-beam and optical lithography in that it involve only few processing steps, e.g. it does not involve any lift-off steps. In order to evaluate the nanofabrication techniques, the DBMTJs with the dimensions of 200 nm×400 nm, 200 nm×200 nm nano-scale were prepared and their R–H, I–V characteristics were measured.     

Multilevel interaction between layers in layered film structures

An analysis was carried out of the mechanism underlying magnetic interlayer interaction in film structures. The investigation was based on the assumption that interlayer bonding affects film hysteresis. This was based on experimental data on the coercive force, the domain structure parameters, and the microstructure of Fe₁₉Ni₈₁/Cr/Fe₁₉Ni₈₁ and Fe₁₅Co₂₀Ni₆₅/Cr/Fe₁₅Co₂₀Ni₆₅ films. Theoretical estimates show that, as the thickness of the Cr interlayer increases, the exchange interaction between the ferromagnetic layers can be replaced by the magnetostatic interaction whose effectiveness is determined by surface irregularities and layer ‘magnetization ripples’. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 2191–2194 (December 1997)     

Depth-dependent fct to fcc strain relaxation in CoxNi1−x/Cu3Au(1 0 0) alloy films

Co_xNi_1−x/Cu₃Au(1 0 0) with x ? 11% was prepared at room temperature to study the strain relaxation and their correlation with the spin-reorientation transition. The vertical interlayer distance relaxed from 1.66 Å (fct) to 1.76 Å (fcc) while the thickness increased from 8 ML to 18 ML. Such rapid strain relaxation with thickness was attributed to the larger lattice mismatch between Co_xNi_1−x and Cu₃Au(1 0 0) (η ∼ −6.5%). The smooth change for crystalline structure was observed during strain relaxation process in which the crystalline structure seems irrespective of the alloy composition. To explain the strain relaxation, a phenomenological model was proposed. We provide a physical picture that the deeper layers may not relax while the surface layer start to relax. This assumption is based on the several experimental studies. Using the strain averaged from all layers of thin film as the volume strain of magneto-elastic anisotropy energy, the interrelation between strain relaxation and spin reorientation transition can be well described in a Néel type magneto-elastic model.     

Growth and oxidation of a Ni3Al alloy on Ni(1 0 0)

The growth and oxidation of a thin film of Ni₃Al grown on Ni(1 0 0) were studied using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). At 300 K, a 12 Å thick layer of aluminium was deposited on a Ni(1 0 0) surface and subsequently annealed to 1150 K resulting in a thin film of Ni₃Al which grows with the (1 0 0) plane parallel to the (1 0 0) surface of the substrate. Oxidation at 300 K of Ni₃Al/Ni(1 0 0) until saturation leads to the growth of an aluminium oxide layer consisting of different alumina phases. By annealing up to 1000 K, a well ordered film of the Al₂O₃ film is formed which exhibits in the EEL spectra Fuchs-Kliewer phonons at 420, 640 and 880 cm⁻¹. The LEED pattern of the oxide shows a twelvefold ring structure. This LEED pattern is explained by two domains with hexagonal structure which are rotated by 90° with respect to each other. The lattice constant of the hexagonal structure amounts to ∼2.87 Å. The EELS data and the LEED pattern suggest that the γ^′-Al₂O₃ phase is formed which grows with the (1 1 1) plane parallel to the Ni(1 0 0) surface.     

Soft magnetic properties of NiFe compacted powder alloys

It is known that Ni–Fe based alloys (permalloys) are important soft magnetic materials, which have been widely applied in the field of electronic devices and industry. The most suitable permalloys for application exhibit low value of coercivity and magnetostriction (for about 80 at% Ni), high saturation magnetic induction (for about 50 at% Ni), higher electrical resistivity (for about 35 at% Ni). The aim of this work was to investigate the structure and magnetic properties of _Ni81Fe19${\mathrm{Ni}}_{81}{\mathrm{Fe}}_{19}$ (wt%) compacted powder material in the form of small cylinders.     

Thermal and irradiation induced interdiffusion in magnetite thin films grown on magnesium oxide (0 0 1) substrates

Epitaxial Fe₃O₄(0 0 1) thin films (with a thickness in the range of 10-20 nm) grown on MgO substrates were characterized using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) and investigated using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), channeling (RBS-C) experiments and X-ray reflectometry (XRR). The Mg out-diffusion from the MgO substrate into the film was observed for the directly-deposited Fe₃O₄/MgO(0 0 1) films. For the Fe₃O₄/Fe/MgO(0 0 1) films, the Mg diffusion was prevented by the Fe layer and the surface layer is always a pure Fe₃O₄ layer. Annealing and ion beam mixing induced a very large interface zone having a spinel and/or wustite formula in the Fe₃O₄-on-Fe film system.     

Investigation of ferromagnetic coupling between Co layers in a Co/Pt multilayer with perpendicular anisotropy

The coercivity of a Co/Pt multilayer with out-of-plane anisotropy can be lowered greatly if it is grown onto an ultrathin NiO underlayer . By making use of this characteristic, a series of samples glass/NiO(10 Å)/[Co(4 Å)/Pt(5 Å)]₃/Pt(x Å)/[Co(4 Å)/Pt(5 Å)]₃ with different Pt spacer thickness have been prepared to determine the ferromagnetic (FM) coupling between Co layers across the Pt layer. The measurements of major and minor hysteresis loops have shown that the FM coupling between the top and bottom Co/Pt multilayers decreases monotonically with the Pt layer thickness and disappears above the Pt layer thickness of 40 Å. This thickness of 40 Å is much larger than that in the literature. In addition to the FM coupling between the top and bottom Co/Pt multilayers across the Pt spacer, there exists a weak biquadratic coupling, which induces the broad transition of the bottom Co/Pt multilayer.     

NiZnCu ferrite applied for LTCC microinductor

This paper describes the fabrication of thin magnetic layers for an LTCC planar-type inductor with a 0.11 mm thickness. The thin ferrite layers were fabricated by tape casting method. Synthesis conditions and X-ray analysis (300 K) of the Ni_0.3Zn_0.62Cu_0.08Fe₂O₄ ferrite are presented. A pure cubic, Fd 3m crystal structure was observed for the Ni_0.3Zn_0.62Cu_0.08Fe₂O₄ ferrite. The complex impedance and dielectric permittivity of Ni_0.3Zn_0.62Cu_0.08Fe₂O₄ ferrite were determined as a function of temperature (from −55 to 170 °C) and frequency (from 10 Hz to 2 MHz). Dc resistivity was measured in a temperature range from −55 to 170 °C. Magnetization and magnetic hysteresis were measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) in an applied magnetic field up to 60 kOe. The inductance and quality factor were measured in a frequency range 0.1-120 MHz. With the help of finite elements method (FEM) simulation it is possible to calculate the elements electrical parameters and optimize the design. This paper presents a magnetic field modelling of an inductor structure.