Investigation of the magnetic anisotropy of silicide films ion-beam synthesized in the external magnetic field

Magnetic-field-assisted ion-beam synthesis was used to produce thin magnetic films. (1 1 1) Si wafers were implanted with 40 keV Fe+ ions up to the fluence of 3 x 1017 cm-2 in the external magnetic field of 4 x 103-16 x 103 A/m. The samples were investigated by Moessbauer spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and autodyne method. The obtained thin films consisted of ferromagnetic Fe3Si and nonmagnetic FeSi phases. The application of the magnetic field during the implantation led to the pronounced in-plane magnetic anisotropy of the synthesized films. On the basis of the Stoner-Wohlfarth model it was shown that the observed anisotropy is the result of the superposition of magnetocrystalline and induced uniaxial anisotropies.