THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF ELECTROLESS-PLATED CO-B THIN-FILMS

Cobalt-boron alloy films were successfully prepared by electroless plating and characterized by AES, TEM, DSC, and VSM techniques. A bath suitable for room temperature electroless plating was developed. The platng rate was found to be dependent on pH, Co** plus ** plus concentration, and bath temperature, while the composition of the deposited films was not. The microstructure of the as-deposited films is characteristic of clusters of aggregating cells and was established to be amorphous with soft magnetic properties. After annealing at 300 degree C for 1h, the amorphous films were transformed to Co (hcp) phase. CoB, Co//2B, Co (fcc), stacking faults, and twins were visible for the films subjected to annealing temperatures above 400 degree C.