Microstructure and Magnetic Behavior of Fe/Ti Multilayered Films

Abstract

ABSTRACTFe/Ti multilayered films composed of Fe and Ti layers with various thickness ( dFe of 10 ∼ 1000 A and dTi of 10 ∼ 200 A ) have been prepared at Ar gas pressure of 2 mTorr by two pairs of Facing Targets Sputtering apparatus which can deposit very thin and continuous films on plasma-free substrates. The total thickness of Fe layers was 1000 A in all of the specimen films.The periodic microstructure due to compositional modulation was clearly observed not only in the low angle region of X-ray diffraction diagrams but also in the Auger electron spectroscopic depth profile.With decreasing dFe from 1000 to 20 A, the diffraction intensity of (110) plane in the Fe bcc phase lowered for dTi of 10∼200 A and its interplanar spacing ( d-spacing ) increased for dTi above 50A. This diffraction peak disappeared with further decreasing d below 15 A. At dFe around 25 A, a different peak appeared at the angle slightly lower than that of Fe(110) peak. The diffraction intensity of (002) plane in the Ti hcp phase increased with decreasing dFe. However, its d-spacing depended little on the dFe and took the same value as that of bulk Ti except for very small dTi.The net saturation magnetization of Fe layers in all of the specimen films decreased gradually with decreasing dFe from 1000 to 50 A, decreased abruptly with further decreasing dFe and became nearly zero at dFe below 15A.The films annealed at 200 and 400 °C showed obscure periodic microstructure and had larger d-spacing of ∝ −Fe(110) and smaller saturation magnetization than those of the as-deposited ones.