Magnetic study of Fe2CrAl intermetallic thin film obtained from ion-beam sputtered Al/57Fe/Cr multilayer

The structural and magnetic properties of disordered Fe2CrAl intermetallic thin film obtained from thermal annealing of [Al17 Å/57Fe25 Å/Cr13 Å]x20 multilayer have been studied. The combination of X-ray reflectivity, X-ray diffraction, DC magnetization, and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy are used to characterize the as-deposited and annealed multilayers. The structural and conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy studies show that on annealing [Al17 Å/57Fe25 Å/Cr13 Å]x20, multilayer at 773 K, a thin film of Fe2CrAl phase is obtained. DC magnetization studies show the formation of an excellent soft magnetic material with coercivity in the range of 2-22 Oe and saturation magnetization of ∼500-900 emu/cm3. The Curie temperature is found to be much higher than that of its bulk. Disordered Fe2CrAl phase formed after annealing at 833 K for 3 h is highly stable and totally reversible against high temperatures. We believe that this composition in thin film form, with an excellent soft magnetic properties is a suitable material for many multi-functional applications.