Magnetic and electrical properties of iron nitride films containing both amorphous matrices and nanocrystalline grains

We have investigated the magnetic and electrical properties of iron nitride films containing both amorphous matrices and nanocrystalline grains. It is found that both the number and the size of the grains in the amorphous matrix increase as the film thickness increases. The grain is confirmed to have anε-Fe3N structure and the grain size varies in the range of 10–300 nm. The saturation magnetization and the coercivity increase as the number and the size of the grains increase. The electrical resistivity of the iron nitride films is higher than that of the iron film. It is considered that the amorphous matrices cause the high resistivity in the iron nitride films