MFM and AFM study of thin cobalt films modified by fluorosilane

Polycrystalline cobalt films 100 nm thick were thermally evaporated on oxidized Si(100) substrates. Then 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane (FDTS) films of various thicknesses, in the range of about 2 nm to 30 nm, were grown on cobalt surfaces by vapor phase deposition (VPD). The cobalt films modified by FDTS were investigated using magnetic force microscopy (MFM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). MFM observation showed that the magnetic structure of the cobalt films modified by FDTS is composed of domains with a considerable component of magnetization perpendicular to the film surface. This in turn indicates that the cobalt films on oxidized Si(100) substrates crystallize in the hexagonal close-packed (HCP) phase and exhibit a texture with the hexagonal axis perpendicular to the film surface. The magnetic domains formed a maze structure. The domain width increased from typically 80–120 nm to 400–500 nm with increasing the thickness of FDTS films from about 2 nm to 30 nm. AFM imaging of the surfaces of FDTS films revealed the presence of an agglomerate morphology. The agglomerates varied in size from typically 30–70 nm to 150–300 nm as the film thickness was increased from about 2 nm to 30 nm.