Effects of sputtering conditions on the structure and magnetic properties of Ni-Fe films

45% Ni-55% Fe films were deposited onto (1 0 0) Si substrate via radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering. The influence of composition, RF input power, argon pressure, substrate-to-target distance on the magnetic and structural properties of the films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicate that the films had the fcc structure and exhibited a dominant (1 1 1) orientation. The maximum saturation magnetization (4πMs∼16 kG) could be obtained for films with the composition Fe54.5Ni45.5. Depending on deposition conditions, the film coercivity could be varied from 10 to 60 Oe. After annealing at 400 deg. C for 1 h, the particles grew bigger, the films orientation did not change obviously, still showed (1 1 1) orientation, and the coercivity decreased. After annealing, the optimal magnetic properties can be obtained in the films as follows: the saturation magnetization 4πMs∼16 kG, the easy axis of less than 2 Oe, and the hard axis coercivity of less than 1 Oe