Magnetic disorder in nanostructured Fe7Au93 films and Fe14Au86 powders

Thin films and powders of dilute Fe-Au alloys have been produced by DC-magnetron sputtering and high-energy milling, respectively. Energy disperse X-ray spectroscopy gives Fe7Au93 for the films and Fe14Au86 for the powders. The film, with a thickness below 200 nm measured by atomic force microscopy, was deposited onto a Si(100) substrate. X-ray diffraction reveals a major presence of fcc-Au peaks masking the bcc-Fe phase. The (1 0-300 K) DC-susceptibility (H = 100-1000 Oe) shows a clear cusp in the films in contrast to the powders, with a reentrant spin glass-like behavior.