Tuning the magnetic anisotropy of CoFeB grown on flexible substrates**Project supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant Nos. 2011CB922201 and 2015CB921401) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11174272, 11474272, 11274371, 51431009, and 61225021).

Abstract

The magnetic properties of CoFeB thin films grown on flexible polyimide substrates were investigated using a magneto-optical Kerr effect magnetometer. In-plane uniaxial magnetic anisotropy was observed in the virgin state. The strain induced by bending the flexible substrate was applied on the sample to change the magnetic properties of CoFeB. The strain induced uniaxial magnetic anisotropy changed linearly with the deformation by about 8.41 × 1041 erg/cm3 at 1% of deformation. Our results prove the magnetic properties of CoFeB grown on flexible polyimide substrate can be tuned effectively by bending, which could be important for future flexible spintronics.