Zr6Co23 thin films grown on Al2O3(0001) substrate by RF magnetron sputtering: Correlation between the microstructural and magnetic properties

Zr₆Co₂₃ thin films deposited on Al₂O₃(0001) substrate by RF magnetron sputtering have been investigated. The effects of thickness $\delta$ on the magnetic properties are discussed using random magnetic anisotropy calculations and the ferromagnetic resonance measurements (FMR). Correlations between the microstructure, magnetic extrinsic and anisotropy properties, in particular the impacts of surface morphology and the roughness R_rms, exchange A_ex, easy axis deviation ${\theta }_u°$ and magnetic anisotropy constants $K_i,i=1,2$, have been studied. The results showed that when the Zr₆Co₂₃ thickness was 150 nm, the Zr₆Co₂₃/Al₂O₃(0001) showed the optimum magnetic properties. The coercive field H_c = 172 $\times$ 10⁴ A/m, maximum energy product (BH)_max of 81.91 kJ/m³ and anisotropic field H_A is around 9.31 $\times$ 10⁴ A/m. The excellent properties of this film lead us to conclude that it is a very suitable candidate for spintronics and ultra high density magnetic storage applications.