Random Magnetic Anisotropy Studies in SmCo{sub 5} Thin Films

SmCo{sub 5} thin films with different thicknesses were prepared by electron beam evaporation on Kapton substrates. The out-of-plane hysteresis loops for different thicknesses reveal a maximum coercive field when the thickness is 15 nm. Using random magnetic anisotropy model, the thickness dependence of magnetic properties was studied in SmCo{sub 5} nanocrystalline films and several fundamental magnetic parameters were extracted. We have determined the local magnetic anisotropy constant K{sub 1} which is found to increase with increasing film thickness except for t = 7 nm which is thought to arise from the structural imperfection of the SmCo{sub 5} films.