Soft magnetic properties, high frequency characteristics, and thermal stability of co-sputtered FeCoTiN films

FeCoTiN films were prepared by reactive radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering technique in an argon and nitrogen mixture atmosphere. The soft magnetic properties, high frequency characteristics, and magnetic thermal stabilities of the FeCoTiN films were investigated. The FeCoTiN films deposited at an N-2/Ar ratio of 7% have good soft magnetic properties and high saturation magnetization (mu M-0(s)) of about 1.9T. The ferromagnetic resonance frequency reaches 2.2 GHz with the real part of relative permeability above 500 before rolloff for the as-deposited (Fe65.4Co34.6)(94.7)Ti5.3N films. The magnetic thermal stability of the films with higher Ti content is obviously improved. The (Fe65.4Co34.6)(87.1)Ti12.9N film even annealed at 450 degrees C exhibits good magnetic softness and dynamic characteristics. The ferromagnetic resonance frequency reaches 1.9 GHz with the real part of relative permeability larger than 500 before rolloff for the annealed films. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.