Study of cobalt clusters with very narrow size distribution deposited by high-rate cluster source

Co nanoparticles with an average diameter of 4.8 nm and a very narrow size distribution were prepared in a self-built gas aggregation cluster source without a size-selective filtering system. Ferromagnetic nanoparticle films with a thickness of several hundreds of nanometres were prepared at deposition rates up to 600 nm min−1. Cluster properties and deposition characteristics were investigated for different deposition parameters. The as-deposited films exhibit high porosity compared to conventionally DC-sputtered films.