Film Structures and Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy of RE-Fe Sputtered Films

The relation of film structure to magnetic anisotropy of GdFe films, sputtered with different bias voltages V
B
, are reported. Films were sputtered under an Ar pressure of 10 mTorr at various bias voltages V
B
. Film structures for different V
B
were determined using X-ray diffraction and SEM observations. Changes in film properties after annealing in air indicated that films formed with a high bias voltage are not easily oxidized. While structural changes occurred upon 300°C annealing of films formed with a low V
B
, no such changes were observed for films sputtered with a high V
B
.