Synthesis, structural and magnetic properties of Co100-xPdx/GaAs thin films

Series of binary Co100-xPdx thin films are deposited onto GaAs (100) single-crystal semiconductor substrates by using thermal heating process under vacuum. The chemical compositions are analyzed by X-Ray Fluorescence technique, and the film morphologies are investigated by atomic force microscopy tools. The micro structural properties are studied using X-ray diffractometry. The static magnetic properties have been investigated by means of a vibrating sample magnetometer. The hysteresis loops display magnetization curves for ferromagnetic samples with the easy axis in the plane of the film. The coercive field ranges from 2 to 20 kA m−1 and decreases as a function of the grain size. The saturation magnetization decreases as the palladium content increases. Value of the squareness up to 98% has been found. These findings and others are analyzed and correlated.