Preparation and characterisation of compositionally graded SmCo films

A compositionally graded SmCo film has been prepared by magnetron sputtering using a Co target partially covered by a Sm foil. The film was deposited onto a 100 mm thermally oxidised Si substrate and then annealed ex-situ. The SmCo film has been used as a test sample to validate an in-house developed scanning MOKE (Magneto-Optic Kerr effect) system incorporating a pulsed magnetic field source capable of producing fields as high as 10 T. A 2D array of hysteresis loops was measured across the entire wafer. The evolution in coercivity measured along a selected 1D strip of the sample is correlated with changes in composition and crystallographic structures measured using Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The high field Scanning MOKE system holds much potential for optimizing the extrinsic properties of known hard magnetic phases as well as in the search for new hard magnetic phases.