Abstract
The nanostructures of Sm-Co on Cr thin films prepared by dc magnetron sputtering were investigated by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and diffraction techniques. HRTEM micrographs show that the crystallites in the Sm-Co films, as revealed by the lattice fringes, are distributed discontinuously in the matrix. The matrix is amorphous as indicated by microdiffraction study. The size of the crystallites is in the range of 2~5 nanometers. The volume fraction of the crystallites in the film decreases from 91% to 54% as the argon pressure is increased from 5 mTorr to 30 mTorr. Micrographs recorded in bright field transmission electron microscope (TEM) with a defocus of a few micrometers reveal grain-like structures of about 25 nm in some but not all films. This grain-structure is found to be inherited from the Cr underlayer.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 4035-4037 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | IEEE Transactions on Magnetics |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 1994 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering