Effects of oblique-incidence evaporation on magnetic properties of Fe20Ni80/Fe70Co30 bilayer film

Abstract Evaporative deposition at oblique incidence is shown to enhance the magnetic anisotropy of an Fe20Ni80 magnetic film and induce magnetic anisotropy in an overlying, strongly isotropic Fe70Co30 film. This deposition method for the formation of an underlayer of several lattice parameters in thickness and semi-hard overlayer of a few thousands Angstroms in thickness achieves a significant change in the magnetization process and strong suppression of the coercive forces of Fe70Co30 in the hard magnetization direction. Soft magnetization of the Fe70Co30 overlayer is not achieved when one of the layers is deposited at oblique incidence. It is anticipated that shape magnetic anisotropy is responsible in part for the magnetic anisotropy induced in both in Fe20Ni80 under- and Fe70Co30 overlayer by oblique incidence evaporation.