Microstructure and microwave permeability of FeCo thin films with Co underlayer

Microstructure, static magnetic properties and microwave permeability of sputtered FeCo films were examined. Fe₆₀Co₄₀ films (100 nm in thickness) deposited on glass substrates exhibited in-plane isotropy and a large coercivity of 161.1 Oe. When same thickness films were deposited on 2.5 nm Co underlayer, well-defined in-plane anisotropy was formed with an anisotropy field of 65 Oe. The sample had a static initial permeability of about 285, maximum imaginary permeability of 1255 and ferromagnetic resonance frequency of 2.71 GHz. Cross-sectional TEM image revealed that the Co underlayer had induced a columnar grain structure with grain diameter of 10 nm in the FeCo films. In comparison, FeCo films without Co underlayer showed larger grains of 70 nm in diameter with fewer distinct vertical grain boundaries. In addition, the Co underlayer changed the preferred orientation of the FeCo from (1 0 0) to (1 1 0). The improvement in soft magnetic properties and microwave behavior originates from the modification of the film microstructure, which can be well understood by the random anisotropy theory.     

Microstructure and soft magnetic properties of CoFeZrO thin films

Nanogranular CoFeZrO thin films were successfully prepared by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering in O₂/Ar atmosphere. The magnetic properties and microstructure were investigated. It is found that the Co_17.08Fe_49.76Zr_16.24O_16.91 films show the best soft magnetic properties: magnetic coercivity of 0.3 Oe; anisotropy field of 44.9 Oe; saturation magnetization of 16.8 kG; electrical resistivity of 462.8 μΩ cm. The effective permeability of the films reaches 800 and flattens up to 2 GHz.     

Thickness dependence of microwave magnetic properties in electrodeposited Fe-Co soft magnetic films with in-plane anisotropy

In this work, the thickness effect of Fe₅₂Co₄₈ soft magnetic films with in-plane anisotropy on static and microwave magnetic properties was investigated. The hysteresis loop results indicated that the static in-plane uniaxial anisotropy field increased from almost 0-60 Oe with increasing film thickness from 100 to 540 nm and well-defined in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy can be obtained as the thickness reached 540 nm or larger. Based on Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation, the microwave complex permeability spectra were analyzed and well fitted. The LLG curve-fitting results indicated that the initial permeability increased from 106 to 142 and the resonant frequency was shifted from 4.95 to 4.29 GHz as the film thickness was varied from 540 to 1500 nm. Moreover, it was found that there was a discrepancy between the static and the dynamically determined anisotropy field, which can be explained by introducing an additional effective isotropic ripple field. The decreased ripple field was suggested to result in a significant decrease of damping coefficient from 0.109 to 0.038.     

偏置电压对磁致伸缩/压电层合换能结构磁电性能影响

分析和测试了偏置电压调整时PZT5/Terfenol-D/PZT8层合换能结构磁电性能. 提出了一种磁致伸缩/压电层合磁电换能结构的一阶谐振频率控制方法. 通过改变压电驱动层的直流电压对磁电层合结构的预应变进行改变, 从而调整谐振频率. 分析偏置电压、 应变、 弹性模量、 谐振频率和谐振磁电电压系数之间关系. 分析表明: 在较小应变情况下, 控制电压几乎可以线性调节谐振频率, 而层合结构谐振磁电电压系数几乎与偏置电压无关. 实验研究验证: 理论与实验结果较好吻合. 在-170 V-+170 V的偏置电压时, 谐振频率可以几乎线性调整. 最大频率调整量达到1 kHz, 偏置电压对一阶纵振频率的控制率达到: 2.94 Hz/V. 在偏置磁场为0-225 Oe时, 谐振频率调整量与偏置磁场无关. 偏置磁场会改变谐振磁电电压系数, 在大于178 Oe静态磁场偏置时, 磁电电压系数最大, 达到1.65 V/Oe.     

Soft magnetic properties of FeCo films with Co underlayer

Bilayered Fe₆₅Co₃₅ (=FeCo)/Co films were prepared by facing targets sputtering with 4πM_s∼24 kg. The soft magnetic properties of FeCo films were induced by a Co underlayer. H_c decreased rapidly when the Co underlayer was 2 nm or more. The films showed well-defined in-plane uniaxial anisotropy with the typical values of H_ce=10 Oe and H_ch=3 Oe, respectively. High frequency characteristics of the films show the films can work at 0.8 GHz with real permeability as high as 250.     

High-frequency characteristics of CoFeVAlONb thin films

High-frequency characteristics of CoFeVAlONb thin films were studied. A thin film of Co_43.47Fe_35.30V_1.54Al_5.55O_9.93Nb_4.21 is observed to exhibit excellent magnetic properties; magnetic coercivity of 1.24 Oe, uniaxial in-plane anisotropy field of 66.99 Oe, and saturation magnetization of 19.8 kG. The effective permeability of the film is as high as 1089 and is stable up to 1.8 GHz, and with ferromagnetic resonance over 3 GHz. This film also has very high electrical resistivity of about 628 μΩ cm. These superior properties make it ideal for high-frequency magnetic applications.     

Angular control of multi-mode resonance frequencies in obliquely deposited CoZr thin films with rotatable stripe domains

We investigate the angular-dependent multi-mode resonance frequencies in CoZr magnetic thin films with a rotatable stripe domain structure.A variable range of multi-mode resonance frequencies from 1.86 GHz to 4.80 GHz is achieved by pre-magnetizing the CoZr films along different azimuth directions,which can be ascribed to the competition between the uniaxial anisotropy caused by the oblique deposition and the rotatable anisotropy induced by the rotatable stripe domain.Furthermore,the regulating range of resonance frequency for the CoZr film can be adjusted by changing the oblique deposition angle.Our results might be beneficial for the applications of magnetic thin films in microwave devices.     

Recovery of soft magnetic properties of FeNiSm films by Ta interlayer

The magnetic properties of FeNiSm thin films with different thicknesses, different Ta interlayer thicknesses and different numbers of Ta interlayers were investigated. The single layer FeNiSm shows in-plane uniaxial anisotropy at a thickness below critical value, but shows weak perpendicular anisotropy with a stripe domain structure at thickness above the critical value. Experiments indicate that one or more Ta interlayers inserted into thick FeNiSm films with weak perpendicular anisotropy were effective not only in canceling the perpendicular anisotropy, but also in recovering the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy. Blocking of the columnar growth of FeNi grains by the Ta interlayer is considered to be responsible for this spin reorientation phenomenon. Moreover, the magnetization reversal mechanism in FeNiSm films with uniaxial anisotropy can be ascribed to coherent rotation when the applied field is close to the hard axis and to domain-wall unpinning when the applied field is close to the easy axis. The dynamic magnetic properties of FeNiSm films with uniaxial anisotropy were investigated in the frequency range 0.1-5 GHz. The degradation of the soft magnetic properties of magnetic thin films due to the growth of columnar grains can be avoided by insertion of a Ta interlayer.     

Fabrication, magnetism and high frequency application of exchange-coupled Fe65Co35±2-SiO1.7±0.2 granular films

A series of (Fe₆₅Co_35±2)_x-(SiO_1.7±0.2)_1−x nano-granular films with various metal volume fractions (x) were fabricated by rf sputtering. In a wide range, excellent soft magnetic properties have been achieved. In the x range from 0.7 to 0.48, the films exhibit small coercivity H_c not exceeding 4 Oe and high electrical resistivity ρ up to 1.15 × 10⁴ μΩ cm. And a minimum H_c value of 1.65 Oe was obtained for the sample of x = 0.57 with ρ = 2.86 × 10³ μΩ cm. At a frequency lower than 2.0 GHz, the real part μ′ of complex permeability of this sample is more than 170 and the FMR frequency is as high as 2.6 GHz, implying a high cut-off frequency for high frequency applications. With decreasing Fe₆₅Co_35±2 volume fraction, the resistivity of films increases remarkably and the grain size decreases obviously. At the same time, the coercivity H_c decreases with grain size decreasing, which is consistent with the conclusion resulted from random anisotropy model quoted by Herzer. Study on Henkel plots shows that intergranular ferromagnetic exchange coupling exists among grains and is important for realizing soft magnetic properties.     

Structural and magnetic properties of NiZn ferrite films with high saturation magnetization deposited by magnetron sputtering

NiZn ferrite films with well-defined spinel crystal structure were in situ fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering at room temperature. The microstructures and static magnetic properties of the films’ dependence on the partial pressure ratio of argon to oxygen gas were investigated. Scanning electron microscope images indicated that all the films consisted of particles nanocrystalline in nature and the sizes increase as the ratio increases in the range of 10-25 nm. A large saturation magnetization (237.2 emu/cm³) and a minimum of coercivity (68 Oe) were obtained when the ferrite film was deposited in the ratio of 4:1. The complex permeability values (μ = μ′−iμ″) of the film were measured at frequency up to 5 GHz. It was shown that the film exhibited a large real part of permeability μ′ of 18 and a very high resonance frequency f_r of 1.2 GHz. The results suggested that the NiZn ferrite film as-deposited in the ratio of 4:1 may be promised as magnetic medium in the application of integrated circuits operating at microwave frequencies.     

Preparation, and magnetic and electromagnetic properties of La-doped strontium ferrite films

SrLa_xFe_12−xO₁₉ films (x=0-1.0) with large magneto-crystalline anisotropy were synthesized on SiO₂ substrate by sol-gel and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis technique. The films were characterized by various experimental techniques including X-ray diffraction analysis, Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope, Atomic Force Microscopy, Vibrating Sample Magnetometry and vector network analyzer. The results show that La ions completely enter into strontium ferrite lattice without changing the ferrite appearance; its grain size is approximately 40-80 nm, its length is 100 nm; the magnetoplumbite structure is proved through testing a concertina form of the crystal grain; the maximum coercivity is 5986 Oe at x=0.2; La-doped films possess a wider microwave absorption frequency range with better gross loss angle tangent (tan δ>0.1), from 9 to 10.5 GHz at x=0.2, where the maximum value of tan δ reaches 0.2709. The La-doped films reach smaller nanometer size, better magnetic properties and microwave absorption properties with the doping of lanthanum.     

Effect of Co underlayer on soft magnetic properties and microstructure of FeCo thin films

High saturation magnetization soft magnetic FeCo (=Fe₆₅Co₃₅) films were prepared using a thin Co underlayer. The FeCo/Co films exhibited a well-defined in-plane uniaxial anisotropy with easy axis coercivity (H_ce) of 10 Oe and hard axis coercivity (H_ch) of 3 Oe, and a half reduction of H_c with H_ce=4.8 Oe and H_ch=1.0 Oe was obtained when the composition was adjusted to 25 at% Co. The effective permeability of the films remains flat around 250 to 800 MHz. The saturation magnetostriction was 5.2×10⁻⁵ and the intrinsic stress was 0.8 GPa in FeCo single layer, both were slightly reduced by Co underlayer. The Co underlayer changed the preferred orientation of the FeCo films from (2 0 0) to (1 1 0) but more significantly, reduced the average grain size from ∼74 to ∼8.2 nm. It also reduced the surface roughness from 2.351 to 0.751 nm. The initial stage and interface diffusion properties were examined by TEM and XPS.     

Synthesis, characterization, and microwave absorption properties of Fe-40 wt%Ni alloy prepared by mechanical alloying and annealing

Fe-40 wt%Ni alloys with granular shape and flake shape were prepared by a mechanical alloying (MA) and annealing method. The phase composition and morphology of the FeNi alloys, electromagnetic parameters, and microwave absorbing properties of the silicone rubber composite absorbers filled with the as-prepared FeNi alloy particles were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and vector network analyzer. The XRD results indicate that the crystalline structures of the Fe-40 wt%Ni alloys prepared by both one-step and two-step MA processes are face-centered cubic (fcc) Ni (Fe) solid solutions, and the structures can be retained after annealing at 600 °C for 2 h. SEM images show that the FeNi alloy powders for one-step process have a granular shape; however the particles turned into flake form when they were sequentially milled with absolute ethyl alcohol. With the increase in thickness of composite absorber, the reflection loss (RL) decreases, and the peak for minimum reflection loss shifts towards the lower frequency range. Compared to the absorbers filled with the granular FeNi alloy, the absorbers filled with flaky FeNi alloys possess higher complex permittivities and permeabilities and have a lower RL and peak frequency under the same thickness. Microwave absorbing materials with a low reflection loss peak in the range of 1-4 GHz are obtained, and their microwave absorbing properties can be adjustable by changing their thicknesses.     

Optical and electrical properties of SnO2:Sb thin films deposited by oblique angle deposition

The antimony doped tin oxide (SnO₂:Sb) (ATO) thin films were prepared by oblique angle electron beam evaporation technique. X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer and four-point probe resistor were employed to characterize the structure, morphology, optical and electrical properties. The results show that oblique angle deposition ATO thin films with tilted columns structure are anisotropic. The in-plane birefringence of optical anisotropy is up to 0.035 at α = 70°, which means that it is suitable as wave plate and polarizer. The electrical anisotropy of sheet resistance shows that the sheet resistance parallel to the deposition plane is larger than that perpendicular to the deposition plane and it can be changed from 900 Ω/□ to 3500 Ω/□ for deposition angle from 40° to 85°, which means that the sheet resistance can be effectively tuned by changing the deposition angle. Additionally, the sandwich structure of SiO₂ buffer layer plus normal ATO films and oblique angle deposition ATO films can reduce the resistance, which can balance the optical and electrical anisotropy. It is suggested that oblique angle deposition ATO thin films can be used as transparent conductive thin films in solar cell, anti-foggy windows and multifunctional carrier in liquid crystal display.     

Effects of the Hf content on the microstructure and magnetic properties of Co-Hf-Ta thin films

Effects of the Hf content in Co-Hf-Ta thin films on the microstructure and magnetic properties were investigated in this study. It was found that appropriate Hf addition can effectively refine the Co grain size. Co grain sizes sharply decreased from 50 nm down to 2.3 nm with increasing the Hf content from 1.02 at.% to 2.81 at.%, leading to the reduced magneto-crystalline anisotropy. The Co-Hf-Ta thin films with small Co grains reveal low anisotropy field, low coercivity, and high resistivity. By optimizing the Hf content, the film with Hf concentration of 2.81 at.% exhibits excellent soft magnetic properties: high saturation magnetization (4πM_S ∼ 13.6 kG), and low coercivity (H_C ∼ 0.6 Oe). The effective permeability of the film reaches 800 and remains constant up to 1 GHz.     

Enhancement of electromagnetic and microwave absorbing properties of gas atomized Fe-50 wt%Ni alloy by shape modification

In order to increase the electromagnetic parameters and improve the microwave absorbing properties in the range of 1–4 GHz, gas atomized Fe-50 wt%Ni alloys with spherical form were processed in a planetary mill. The morphology, phase composition and saturation magnetization of the FeNi alloy particles were investigated by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometer. The complex permittivity, complex permeability and reflection loss of the microwave absorbing material made from Ethylene–Propylene–Diene Monomer rubber, and the Fe-50 wt%Ni alloys were also studied using vector network analyzer and transmission line theory. The results show that the shape of the atomized Fe-50 wt%Ni powders can be modified by mechanical milling. The flaky Fe-50 wt% Ni particles were prepared, and the aspect ratio increases with increasing the milling time from 10 to 30 h. Mechanical milling does not change the phase compositions of the FeNi alloys but decreases the peak intensity and broadens the peak width. The saturation magnetization decreases and the coercivity increases as the milling time increases. The electromagnetic parameters and microwave absorbing properties are enhanced with the increase of the aspect ratio. The rubber absorbers filled with flaky Fe-50 wt%Ni powders milled for 30 h exhibit the low reflection loss in the 1–4 GHz frequency range.     

Stress analysis, structure and magnetic properties of sputter deposited Ni-Mn-Ga ferromagnetic shape memory thin films

The residual stress instituted in Ni-Mn-Ga thin films during deposition is a key parameter influencing their shape memory applications by affecting its structural and magnetic properties. A series of Ni-Mn-Ga thin films were prepared by dc magnetron sputtering on Si(1 0 0) and glass substrates at four different sputtering powers of 25, 45, 75 and 100 W for systematic investigation of the residual stress and its effect on structure and magnetic properties. The residual stresses in thin films were characterized by a laser scanning technique. The as-deposited films were annealed at 600 °C for 1 h in vacuum for structural and magnetic ordering. The compressive stresses observed in as-deposited films transformed into tensile stresses upon annealing. The annealed films were found to be crystalline and possess mixed phases of both austenite and martensite, exhibiting good soft magnetic properties. It was found that the increase of sputtering power induced coarsening in thin films. Typical saturation magnetization and coercivity values were found to be 330 emu/cm³ and 215 Oe, respectively. The films deposited at 75 and 100 W display both structural and magnetic transitions above room temperature.     

Influence of the nitrogen contents on the permeability characteristics and soft magnetic properties of FeHfN films

High permeability magnetic films can enhance the inductance of thin-film inductors in DC-DC converters. In order to obtain high permeability, the uniaxial anisotropy and coercivity should be as low as possible. This study employed dc reactive magnetron sputtering to fabricate nanocrystalline FeHfN thin films. The influence of the nitrogen flow on the composition, microstructure, and permeability characteristics, as well as magnetic properties was investigated. Increasing the nitrogen content can alter FeHfN films from amorphous-like to crystalline phases. The magnetic properties and permeability depend on variations in the microstructure. With the optimum N₂/Ar flow ratio of 4.8% (N₂ flow: 1.2 sccm), low anisotropy (H_K = 18 Oe), low coercivity (H_C = 1.1 Oe) and high permeability (μ′ > 600 at 50 MHz) were obtained for fabrication of a nanocrystalline FeHfN film with a thickness of around 700 nm. Such as-fabricated FeHfN films with a permeability of over 600 should be a promising candidate for high-permeability ferromagnetic material applications.     

Preparation, magnetic and electromagnetic properties of polyaniline/strontium ferrite/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composite

Strontium ferrite particles were firstly prepared by sol-gel method and self-propagating synthesis, and then the polyaniline/strontium ferrite/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composites were synthesized through in situ polymerization approach. Structure, morphology and properties of the composite were characterized by various instruments. XRD analysis shows that the output of PANI increases with the increase of the content of MWCNTs, due to the large surface area of MWCNTs. Because of the coating of PANI, the outer diameter of MWCNTs increases from 10 nm to 20-40 nm. The electrical conductivity of the composites increases with the amount increase of MWCNTs and reaches 7.2196 S/cm in the presence of 2 g MWCNTs. The coercive force of the composites prepared with 2 g MWCNTs is 7457.17 Oe, which is much bigger than that of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ particles 6145.6 Oe, however, both the saturation magnetization and the remanent magnetization of the composite become much smaller than those of SrFe₁₂O₁₉ particles. The electromagnetic properties of the composite are excellent in the frequency range of 2-18 GHz, which mainly depend on the dielectric loss in the range of 2-9 GHz, and mainly on the magnetic loss in the range of 9-18 GHz.     

Co-based nanogranular thin films on flexible substrate for gigahertz applications

The Co-based granular thin films were deposited on the flexible substrate (Kapton) by magnetron sputtering. The films comprise of Co nanocrystallites and small amount of amorphous (Al,O)-rich inter-granular phase and have the electric resistivities in the range 50–120 μΩ cm, depending on the composition and thickness. The as-deposited films with thickness <80 nm have low coercivity (<20 Oe along hard direction), high permeability (up to 500) and resonance frequency up to 2.5 GHz. Compared to the rigid films, the flexible films have relatively higher coercivity and lower resonance frequency. A comparison between Co-based granular films and FeTaN continuous films has also been discussed.