Magnetic and structural characteristics of ion beam sputter deposited Co-Cr thin films

The magnetic and structural characteristics of ion beam sputter deposited Co 82 Cr 18 films were investigated. Films of between 1000A and 10,000A thickness were deposited on glass, titanium, chromium and amorphous Ta-W-Ni. The average angle of incidence of the sputtered species was normal to the substrate surface. Film orientation was determined by x-ray pole figure analysis. In films deposited on glass with thicknesses below 10,000A, the (100) reflection decreased with increasing film thickness. Accompanying this decrease in the (100) intensity is a narrowing of the c-axis dispersion. Structural modeling of film deposited on glass indicates that the (100) crystal orientation decays away entirely at a thickness of 2000A. The magnitude of c-axis dispersion for a given thickness was largest for films deposited on chromium and smallest on amorphous Ta-W-Ni. Furthermore, in films with a predominantly (002) orientation, those with greater c-axis dispersion exhibited a greater dispersion of the magnetic easy axis.