Microstructural investigations of FeN and FeAlN thin films for recording head applications

Abstract

A series of FeN and FeAlN thin films were grown by reactive RF sputter deposition. Planar and cross-sectional specimens were investigated in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is observed that introduction of nitrogen is associated with improved magnetic properties and decreased grain size. and that the introduction of Al is associated with improved thermal stability of both the magnetic properties and the microstructures. The authors also investigated the effect of lamination and the role of the interlayer. They found the best magnetic properties in annealed films with five 1000-AA-thick FeN layers and four 25-AA-thick SiO/sub 2/ interlayers. High-resolution TEM studies of cross-sectional specimens revealed an amorphous structure in this interlayer, providing crystallographic decoupling between the FeN layers. It is proposed that this SiO/sub 2/ layer also serves to reduce magnetic coupling between layers.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>