Effect of rapid recurrent thermal annealing on the soft magnetic behaviour of Co85.5Nb8.9Zr5.6 nanocrystalline thin films

The rapid recurrent thermal annealing (RRTA) method has been used to crystallize-amorphous Co85.5Nb8.9Zr5.6 soft magnetic thin films, which were fabricated by DC magnetron sputtering onto glass-ceramic substrates directly at room temperature. As a result, crystalline grains with diameter of about 10 nm were formed and a partiall nanocrystallization of the films was obtained. The soft magnetic properties of the Co-based nanocrystalline thin films were largely improved after RRTA. The resistivity is decreased by a quarter and the coercivity is also decreased. The magnetic and electrical properties were investigated using the RRTA method with varied parameters such as annealing temperature, annealing time and repeat cycle. The experimental results revealed that the RRTA is an effective method to control the magnetic and electrical properties of Co85.5Nb8.9Zr5.6 thin films.