Improved crystal texture control for rare earth-transition metal magnetic films sputtered in ArXe gas mixtures

摘要: Abstract The influence of energetic neutral sputtered atoms impinging during the growth crystalline textured rare earth transition metal films has been experimentally studied and modeled. main system Sm 2 (Co,Fe,Cu,Zr) 17 that have directly crystallized by sputtering onto heated sapphire polycrystalline Al O 3 substrates. By varying pressures gas compositions, composition from same targets could be shifted so either a disordered hexagonal TbCu 7 -type structure was formed or, for richer samarium concentrations, 1–5-type formed. Films exhibiting were principal interest these studies. magnetic anisotropy field sufficiently high properties very sensitive indicator presence crystallites c axes skewed out film plane. It possible to sputter such films, with thicknesses 1 more than 50 microm, in-plane energy products about 20 MG Oe in ArXe mixtures no plane can detected. A result modeling which uses distribution atom energies, is fraction non-thermal striking crystallizing appreciably lowered using at much lower total if argon alone used as gas.