Effect of Ni concentration on microstructure, magnetic and microwave properties of electrodeposited NiCoFe films

The influence of Ni addition on the microstructure, magnetic properties and microwave characteristics of Nix(Co0.5Fe0.5)1−x (x = 0–0.7 wt. ratio) films fabricated by electrodeposition technique was investigated. It is revealed by the characterization of an X-ray Diffractometer that the films show a mixture of both FCC and BCC structures and the BCC structure is gradually suppressed with increasing Ni concentration. The morphology study by Scanning Electron Microscopy shows that with the addition of Ni, the film surface becomes smoother and grain size is reduced. The saturation magnetization and coercivity values show a similar behavior with increased Ni concentration. The ferromagnetic resonance frequency is increased from 1.07 to 1.9 GHz with the increase of Ni concentration from 0 to 0.3 and is decreased upon further Ni concentration increment which was interpreted in terms of contribution of the stress of films.

► BCC crystallographic structure is gradually suppressed with increment of Ni content.
► The Ms and Hc values show similar behavior with increase of Ni concentration.
► The FMR frequency has a maximum value of 1.9 GHz at Ni concentration of 0.3.
► Sufficient addition of Ni may lead to significant enhancement of film properties.