Magnetic properties of co-sputtered Tb–Co2FeAl films with perpendicular anisotropy

We present a systematic study on magnetic properties of co-sputtered Tb–Co2FeAl (TCFA) films. The TCFA films with suitable Tb content have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA). The PMA deteriorates with both decreasing film thickness and high temperature annealing. Under a certain thickness, the perpendicular coercivity of the TCFA films with PMA can be reduced down to 60 Oe, which is comparable with normal soft ferromagnets. After annealing at 100 °C, a large remanence squareness of 0.95 is observed in the TCFA film with 33% Tb and a thickness of 30 nm.

► Co-sputtered Tb–Co2FeAl films have perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.
► The perpendicular coercivity of the Tb–Co2FeAl films can be reduced down to 60 Oe.
► A large remanence squareness of 0.95 is observed in the TCFA film.