THE EFFECT OF SPUTTERING CONDITIONS ON THE EXCHANGE FIELDS OF COXNI1-XO AND NIFE

The effect nf changing sputtering parameters on the magnetic properties of CoXNi1-xO/Ni81Fe19 exchange couples were studied. The thicknesses of the two layers were kept constant at 500 Angstrom and 200 Angstrom respectively. Substrate bias and sputtering pressure were varied for the CoNiO layer while the conditions for the NiFe layer were kept constant. We observed an increase in the exchange fields with increasing negative substrate bias and with decreasing sputtering pressure. X-ray studies revealed a correlation between the observation of exchange fields and film texture. Blocking temperatures were also measured and mere found to increase with substrate bias.