Magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity of sputtered Sm2Co17-based films

The Sm2Co17-based intermetallic films with additives of Fe, Cu, and Zr have been deposited on Si(1 0 0) substrates by dc magnetron sputtering process. Subsequent thermal treatment and the film thickness are found to have significant contribution to the crystal structure and grain structure, which determines the magnetization reversal process and intrinsic coercivity (HC) of these films. The conventional thermal annealing (CTA) treatment almost failed to crystallize the as-deposited films, leading to a very low HC. Continuous and homogeneous domain walls cannot form in this deteriorated microstructure, so that the pinning mechanism can be excluded. Contrarily, the films with thickness exceeding 0.8 μm treated by rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) show an improved HC, which is attributed to the observed completed crystallization and compact microstructure. It is suggested that this film structure is responsible for providing continuous and homogeneous domain walls, leading to a magnetization reversal process controlled by domain wall pinning model. In special, the HC of the RRTA-treated film with thickness of 1.8 μm shows a good temperature dependence from 25 to 300 °C, with intrinsic coercivity temperature coefficient β of −0.23%/°C.