Magnetic properties and characterization of CoCrM/TiCr/Si films produced by pulsed laser deposition

A series of nanogranular CoCrM/TiCr thin films have been fabricated by pulsed-laser deposition on Si(1 1 1) substrates at 450-500 °C. The crystal structure and magnetic properties of these films were investigated. The transmission electron microscope images with selected area diffraction and X-ray diffraction showed that the structure of as-prepared films is dependent on laser energy and deposition temperature. It was found that the microstructure of CoCrM/TiCr films consisted of fine dispersive crystal grains, while the preferential c-axis orientation of films deteriorated when the thickness of CoCr-alloy layer increased along with metal doping into the CoCr films. The magnetic properties of CoCrM/TiCr films formed on Si are strongly dependent on the thickness of magnetic layer, grain structure, and grain shape. Enhancement of coercivity and squareness of the laser-deposited film is probably due to the improvement in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy and the reduction in the thickness of magnetic layer.