Strong uniaxial magnetic anisotropy in Fe3Si thin films

Abstract

Thin Fe3Si films grown on Si/SiO2 substrates by ion-beam and pulsed laser deposition possess soft ferromagnetic behavior and strong in-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy. The material of the capping layer and deposition of the buffer layer do not affect the presence and character of obtained anisotropy. The structural studies showed that Fe3Si film deposited on amorphous SiO2 layer is polycrystalline while the same layer grown on polycrystalline Ta buffer layer is amorphous. It has also been found that uniaxial anisotropy is similar for amorphous and crystalline DO3 Fe3Si films. Magnetic properties yield a magnetization saturation of both amorphous and crystalline films as 1050 emu/cm3 at room temperature and coercive field not exceeding 5 Oe. The origin of such an anomalous behavior were discussed in terms of deposition technique features and parameters, substrate and capping layer type and resulting film parameters.