Role of heat formation on soft magnetic properties and structure of metal-insulator type nano-granular magnetic films

In this study the magnetic properties and the microstructure of several granular films, which contain the insulating matrix with different magnitude of heat of formation /spl Delta/H, were investigated and a guide in obtaining excellent high frequency soft magnetic film was found. Nano-granular films were prepared on glass substrate by Ar+O/sub 2/ reactive sputtering using Co/sub 85/ME/sub 15/ alloy targets (ME: Ge, Sn, Si, Al, Dy, Sm, Y). High resolution transmission electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering were used for determination of the film microstructure. Magnetic measurements were conducted on a vibrating sample magnetometer. Results showed that saturation magnetization of Co-ME-O films gradually increased with the magnitude of /spl Delta/H of ME-O compound. On the other hand, the electrical resistivity decreased with increasing /spl Delta/H of ME-O compound films. These intrinsic factors were attributed to the structure change and segregation of film structure during deposition.