High-coercivity SmCo5 thin films deposited on glass substrates

Structural and magnetic properties of SmCo5 thin films grown on glass substrates with a Cr underlayer were investigated. The nanocrystalline SmCo5 film with a (1120) texture exhibited high in-plane intrinsic coercivity up to 26.5 kOe and a large in-plane magnetic anisotropy. The crystallinity of the SmCo5 layer plays an important role, which is strongly dependent on the texture and the morphology of the Cr underlayer. A smooth Cr underlayer with a (200) texture and a good crystallinity is desired for the SmCo5 film with a good magnetic performance. This work demonstrates a process to achieve high intrinsic coercivity and large in-plane magnetic anisotropy SmCo5 films on glass substrates deposited at a relatively low temperature (400 deg. C)