https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2008-00259-9
Argon and krypton ion-induced changes in permalloy thin films
1
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, II. Physikalisches Institut and Sonderforschungsbereich 602, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
2
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, I. Physikalisches Institut, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, 37077 Göttingen, Germany
Corresponding author: a plieb@gwdg.de
Received:
22
November
2007
Revised:
13
June
2008
Published online:
10
July
2008
The effects of 75-keV Ar and 100-keV Kr ion irradiations of 72-nm thin DC-sputtered permalloy (Ni81Fe19) films on Si(100) wafers were studied at fluences of up to 1016 ions/cm2. The changes of the structural and magnetic properties were measured via X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, and magneto-optical Kerr effect. The irradiations increase the lattice constant and improve the crystallinity of the samples. They induce also strong changes of the magnetic polarisation and the coercive field for increasing ion fluence. The hysteresis loops suggest that, with increasing ion fluence, the reversal of the magnetisation changes gradually from rotation-dominated in the as-deposited films to domain-wall-motion dominated at the highest ion fluences. The results are compared with those obtained for Ni-, Cr- and Xe-ion irradiated permalloy films.
PACS: 61.80.Jh – Ion radiation effects / 75.30.Gw – Magnetic anisotropy / 75.60.Ej – Magnetization curves, hysteresis, Barkhausen and related effects / 75.70.-i – Magnetic properties of thin films, surfaces, and interfaces
© EDP Sciences, Società Italiana di Fisica, Springer-Verlag, 2008