Magnetostatic properties of thin Fe films

Abstract We present the results of investigations of magnetostatic properties and surface structure of thin pure iron films. The dependence of the magnetic properties on the film thickness is analyzed. The samples of 0.1–1.8 μm thickness were deposited on 10 μm thick mylar substrates by the magnetron sputtering technique. The surface structure was investigated using the atomic force microscope. To measure the magnetostatic properties, we used the Vibration Sample Anisometer. An external magnetic field up to 8.5 kOe was applied both in plane (parallel and perpendicular to the plane easy axes) and normal to the sample plane, and the dependence of the magnetization on the field was measured. The orientation of the remanent magnetic moment was measured to verify the presence of the perpendicular anisotropy. A strong dependence of magnetic properties, namely coercive force, remanent magnetization, in-plane and out-of-plane anisotropy, on Fe thickness has been found. In particular, both magnetic and structural anisotropies increase with the sample thickness.