Effect of deposition methods on the magnetic properties of nanocrystalline permalloy

In this study, methods for developing high permeability in nanocrystalline permalloy by electrodeposition and magnetron sputtering as well as the relationship between the grain size and the magnetic properties of the nanocrystalline permalloy are investigated. Using DC plating with and without saccharin as grain refining agent, pulsed plating with saccharin added, pulsed reverse plating with saccharin added and magnetron sputtering, permalloy specimens of grain sizes ranging from 5 to 52 nm are obtained. The coercivity values of the specimens are characterized. The results show that the coercivity decreases drastically as the crystallite size was decreased from 52 to 7 nm. However, the variation range of coercivity magnitude against the crystallite size varies significantly for specimens by different deposition methods due to other factors such as uniformity and residual stresses of the specimens.