Structural and Magnetic Characteristics of Nanogranular Co–Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} Single- and Multilayer Films Formed by the Solid-State Synthesis

The results of structural and magnetic investigations of nanogranular Co–Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} films formed from Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}/Al thin-film layered structures upon vacuum annealing are reported. The Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}/Al films have been obtained by sequential reactive magnetron sputtering of a metallic cobalt target in a medium consisting of the Ar + O{sub 2} gas mixture and magnetron sputtering of an aluminum target in the pure argon atmosphere. It is shown that such a technique makes it possible to obtain nanogranular Co–Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} single- and multilayer thin films with a well-controlled size of magnetic grains and their distribution over the film thickness.