Magnetostriction and Perpendicular Magnetic Anisotropy of Amorphous GdFeCo Thin Films

Abstract

The saturation magnetostriction constant λ s , and the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy K u of amorphous Gd x (Fe 100- y Co y ) 100- x (9.5< x <50) films prepared by dc-biased rf sputtering have been measured at room temperature. In films with high Co concentration, λ s showed strong dependence on Gd content, whereas in Fe-rich films, λ s showed weak dependence. Furthermore, it was confirmed that λ s was not affected by the substrate bias voltage V b , although K u strongly depended on V b .