MAGNETIC-ANISOTROPY IN IRON FILMS DEPOSITED OBLIQUELY BY SPUTTERING

The substrate temperature dependence of the anisotropy field Hk in the film plane was investigated for iron films deposited obliquely by rf diode sputtering. The incidence angle was 45° and the substrate temperature Ts ranged from 337 to 672 K. The filed Hk is positively large in the range 460 K Ts 530 K and very small outside this range. The magnetic and optical measurements and the X-ray analysis showed that the large Hk originates from the shape anisotropy concerning the bundle formation of columnar grains along the direction perpendicular to the incidence plane and the contribution of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy to Hk is negligible. Replica electron microscopy provided a visual evidence of the bundle formation.