Structural investigation of TbCo2/Fe magnetostrictive thin films by tomographic atom probe and Mössbauer spectrometry

Abstract Sputtered TbCo 2 /Fe magnetostrictive multilayers have been deposited on both island posts and flat substrates and analysed by laser-assisted tomographic atom probe and 57 Fe Mossbauer spectrometry. The three-dimensional reconstructions of the layers were obtained, allowing the analysis of the interfaces. Differences are revealed, as the Fe-on-TbCo 2 interface is thinner than the TbCo 2 -on-Fe interface. This effect is attributed to Fe/Co interdiffusion, controlled by the establishment of the Tb layer. Fe layers are well crystallized.