A novel micromachined magnetostrictive delay line (MDL) with electroplated amorphous magnetostrictive thin film

A novel micromachined magnetostrictive delay line (MDL) employing electroplated thin film with high saturation magnetostriction coefficient has been proposed, fabricated and characterized in this work. The realized micro MDL consists of two micromachined coils and the electroplated magnetostrictive thin film working as a delay medium. The electroplated magnetostrictive FeB thin film with a thickness of 1/spl mu/m has a high saturation magnetostriction (/spl lambda//sub s/=54/spl times/10/sup -6/). Compared to sputtering, electrodepositing method is cheap, convenient, and compatible with MEMS fabrication process. The developed micro MDL shows excellent delay characteristics, so it can be used as a basic principle for various new microsensors.