The effect of sputtering conditions on the exchange fields of Co/sub x/Ni/sub 1-x/O and NiFe

The effect of changing sputtering parameters on the magnetic properties of Co/sub x/Ni/sub 1-x/O/Ni/sub 81/Fe/sub 19/ exchange couples were studied. The thicknesses of the two layers were kept constant at 500 /spl Aring/ and 200 /spl Aring/ respectively. Substrate bias and sputtering pressure were varied for the CoNiO layer while the conditions for the NiFe layer were kept constant. We observed an increase in the exchange fields with increasing negative substrate bias and with decreasing sputtering pressure. X-ray studies revealed a correlation between the observation of exchange fields and film texture. Blocking temperatures were also measured and were found to increase with substrate bias.