Improvement of some physical and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe15–Ni85/ITO thin films by galvanostatic pretreatment process

Abstract

In this research, a comparative study on some physical and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe15–Ni85 thin films with and without galvanostatic pretreatment (GPT) process deposited on conductive and transparent indium tin oxide substrates using the electrodeposition method is carried out. The films exhibit the non-preferential deposition of more noble Ni. The films, irrespective of the GPT process, show a single face-centered cubic structure with the preferential orientation of crystallites along the (111) plane. The Ni-Fe thin film with the GPT exhibits a smaller crystallite size and a stronger [111] texture than the Ni-Fe thin film without the GPT. The films exhibit in-plane magnetic hysteresis loops with a magnetic squareness ratio of about 0.10 ± 0.01 independent of the GPT. The main advantages of the Ni-Fe thin film with the GPT are the smooth surface with smaller particles and the in-plane magnetization, which shows a significant reduction of the coercive field. The results obtained in this study are expected to be useful for future experimental studies of Ni-Fe thin film materials.