The following conditions are deposited: (a) glass/Fe40Pd40B20(X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) and (b) glass/ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm), where each of X and Y is 2.5 nm, 5 nm, 7.5 nm or 10 nm. The sputtering sequence and the thickness of the FePdB film were varied to investigate their effects on the low-frequency alternative-current magnetic susceptibility (chi(ac)), maximum phase angle (theta(max)), maximum chi(ac) and corresponding optimal resonance frequency (f(res)), electrical resistivity (rho), and transmission and reflection percentages. Experimental results reveal that Fe40Pd40B20(X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) is better than ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm) because the nanocrystallization Fe40Pd40B20 at the bottom of the material can improve its magneto nanocrystalline anisotropy and increase the crystallization of ZnO, improving its magnetic and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) demonstrate that the ZnO (002) peak of Fe40Pd40B20(X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) is stronger than that of ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm). In particular, a comparison of high-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscopic (HR X-TEM) observations of Fe40Pd40B20(10 nm)/ZnO(50 nm) and ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(10 nm) indicates that the Fe40Pd40B20 texture induces magneto nanocrystalline anisotropy into the nanocrystalline FePdB layer of Fe40Pd40B20(10 nm)/ZnO(50 nm), yielding the highest chi(ac) of around 0.79 with an f(res) of 10 Hz and an theta(max) of 179 degrees. Furthermore, rho is reduced as the thickness of FePdB increases, because grain boundaries and the surface of thin films scatter electrons, causing thinner films to have greater resistance. The rho of Fe40Pd40B20(X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) is lower than that of ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm) because stronger ZnO crystallization and nanocrystalline FePdB improve the scattering of electrons by the surface of the films. Finally, with respect to the optical transmittance and reflectance of Fe40Pd40B20(X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) and ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm), as the FePdB thickness increases, the transmittance gradually decreases, because transmittance and reflectance are inversely related to film thickness, increasing reflective efficiency. The results reveal that the magnetic and photoelectric properties of glass/Fe40Pd40B20 (X nm)/ZnO(50 nm) are better than those of glass/ZnO(50 nm)/Fe40Pd40B20(Y nm) owing to the tightly nanocrystalline FePdB crystallization and stronger ZnO crystallization. Glass/Fe40Pd40B20(10 nm)/ZnO(50 nm) is particularly effective for magnetic and photoelectric applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
