Magnetic properties of Fe(N)/NiFe(N) sputtered on sloping surfaces

The magnetic properties of sputtered iron-based films can be significantly different when deposited on sloping surfaces. For example, anisotropy fields, H/sub k/, and easy axis coercivities, H/sub ce/, of Fe(N)/NiFe(N) films in this study were as much as two orders of magnitude higher on 60/spl deg/ tilted surfaces than on flat surfaces. The use of high substrate bias during deposition effectively lessened increases of H/sub k/ and H/sub ce/. These parameters were largely independent of the nitrogen content of the films, implying the observed increases were not strongly dependent on magnetostriction. The large H/sub k/ and the H/sub ce/ values are believed to be caused by a shape anisotropy associated with angle-of-incidence deposition and film crystallite morphology.