Changes in stress and coercivity after annealing of amorphous Co(Zr, Nb) thin films deposited by RF sputtering

The variations of the coercivity and the stress of low-magnetostriction Co(Zr, Nb) thin films are investigated, for various values of the sputtering gas pressure, P/sub Ar/, before and after annealing at 300 degrees C. The origin of the stresses and their implications for the coercivity and the anisotropy are discussed on the basis of inert gas incorporation, morphological features, and relaxation effects.<
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