Influence of crystallographic orientation on the magnetic properties of NiFe, Co, and Ni epitaxial fcc films grown on single-crystal substrates

Ni80Fe20 (at. %), Co, and Ni epitaxial thin films of fcc(100) and fcc(111) orientations are prepared on single-crystal substrates by using an ultra-high-vacuum radio-frequency magnetron sputtering system. The influence of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy on the magnetostriction behavior under in-plane rotating magnetic fields is investigated. Triangular waveforms are observed in the magnetostriction measurements under low rotating fields for films that show four-fold symmetry in the in-plane magnetic anisotropies. The magnetostriction behavior is related to the motion of ninety-degree magnetic domain walls in magnetically unsaturated films. The waveform changes from a triangular to a sinusoidal shape when magnetization saturation is approached under increasing magnetic field. On the other hand, films having almost isotropic in-plane magnetic properties show sinusoidal waveforms even when the films are not magnetically saturated.