Growth mechanism and magnetic properties for the out-of-plane–oriented Nd–Fe–B films

The growth mechanism for the out-of-plane orientation of Nd–Fe–B films has been interpreted by the adparticle mobility during film growth, from the point view of the extended structure zone model. The growth mode changes sequentially from zone II to zone Ic, with the lowered thermally induced adparticle mobility on the surface as the film grows. As such, the whole Nd–Fe–B film evolves from [00l] out-of-plane orientation to more randomly out-of-plane alignment. With the growth of the out-of-plane–oriented Nd–Fe–B film, the correlation between the magnetic properties and the alignment evolution has been studied. The coercivity variation with the film growth is understood by analyzing the nucleation-dominant reversal processes for the out-of-plane–oriented Nd–Fe–B films.