Control of coercivity in NiFe films for single-level masking bubble devices

Methods of reducing H
c
in thick NiFe films deposited on evaporated Au have been studied for applications in conductor-first single-level masking bubble device fabrication. Results obtained using surface modification techniques, such as ion implantation, plasma etching, and semiconducting intermediate layers (TiO
x
) are described. In addition, the performance of actual 5-μm and 2-μm devices is discussed.