Nanostructures of Sm-Co ON Cr thin films

Y. Liue, B. W. Robertson, Z. S. Shan, S. Malhotra, M. J. Yu, S. K. Renukunta, S. H. Liou, D. J. Sellmyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4035-4037
Number of pages3
JournalIEEE Transactions on Magnetics
Volume30
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1994

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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