Oxidation and corrosion resistance of TbFeCoPt alloys films

The effect of Pt addition on the oxidation and corrosion resistance of TbFeCo magnetooptic films prepared from alloy targets by DC magnetron sputtering has been studied. The addition of 5-10 at.% of Pt to TbFeCo increased its environmental stability, reduced pinhole formation, and increased corrosion potential without significantly affecting the magnetooptical properties. Auger depth profiles indicated that the oxide on TbFeCo films after accelerated aging was thicker than that on TbFeCoPt films. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study in-situ oxidation of clean TbFeCoPt films under 5*10/sup -7/ Torr of oxygen at room temperature. Results indicated that Pt remained in the metallic form, whereas Tb and Fe were oxidized at the surface. An oxygen-induced segregation of Tb to the surface was observed.<>