Variation of structure and magnetic properties with thickness of thin Co59Fe26Ni15 films

Variations of phase composition and magnetic properties of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Co-Fe-Ni films with film thickness in the range of 50-500 nm were analyzed. The samples were magnetically soft with coercivity in the range H-c = 2-20 Oe and uni axial magnetic anisotropy up to H-k = 20 Oe. It was found that H-c decreases and H-k increases with increasing film thickness. The BCC phase dominates at small film thickness up to about 80 nm and the FCC phase increases when the film growths to a larger thickness. The increase of FCC phase correlates with the improvement of the ultrasoft magnetic properties. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.