Effects of film thickness and droplets on magnetic properties of SmFeN films prepared by laser ablation technique

SmFeN film magnets were prepared by the laser ablation technique, and effects of film thickness and droplets on their magnetic properties were studied. An increase in the film thickness increased coercivity. The thermomagnetic analysis and the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicated that the observed increase in the coercivity can be attributed to the suppression of oxidation of Sm. Droplets on film surfaces included a larger amount of Fe than flat parts without droplets and a decrease in the number of droplets results in an increase in coercivity. The coercivity of 6.5 kOe was obtained for the 5 /spl mu/m thick film with a small number of droplets.