Effects of deposition angle on perpendicular anisotropy and internal stress in evaporated TbFeCo films

Abstract

The effects of deposition angle on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and internal stress in thermally evaporated amorphous TbFeCo thin films are investigated. We have found that the perpendicular anisotropy and the internal stress depend strongly on the deposition angle, and above a threshold value (30°), the perpendicular anisotropy disappears and the in-plane anisotropy appears. The measurement of internal stress, which is due to the substrate constraint, reveals that the compressive stress is the major contribution to the perpendicular anisotropy. The measurements of Kerr hysteresis loops in the polar and longitudinal directions show that, as the deposition angle increases, the polar Kerr hysteresis loop deteriorates, while the longitudinal Kerr hysteresis loop becomes prominent.