Swift heavy ion induced surface modification for tailoring coercivity in Fe-Ni based amorphous thin films

Journal Article · Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3075581· OSTI ID:21186016

Thomas, Senoy; Thomas, Hysen; Anantharaman, M R ^[1]; Avasthi, D K; Tripathi, A ^[2]; Ramanujan, R V ^[3]

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1. Department of Physics, Cochin University of Science and Technology, Cochin 682022 (India)
2. Materials Science Division, Inter University Accelerator Centre, New Delhi 110067 (India)
3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

Fe-Ni based amorphous thin films were prepared by thermal evaporation. These films were irradiated by 108 MeV Ag{sup 8+} ions at room temperature with fluences ranging from 1x10{sup 12} to 3x10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2} using a 15 UD Pelletron accelerator. Glancing angle x-ray diffraction studies showed that the irradiated films retain their amorphous nature. The topographical evolution of the films under swift heavy ion (SHI) bombardment was probed using atomic force microscope and it was noticed that surface roughening was taking place with ion beam irradiation. Magnetic measurements using a vibrating sample magnetometer showed that the coercivity of the films increases with an increase in the ion fluence. The observed coercivity changes are correlated with topographical evolution of the films under SHI irradiation. The ability to modify the magnetic properties via SHI irradiation could be utilized for applications in thin film magnetism.

• OSTI ID: 21186016
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 105, Issue 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3075581; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY
BORON ALLOYS
COERCIVE FORCE
HEAVY IONS
ION BEAMS
IRON ALLOYS
MAGNETIC MATERIALS
MAGNETIC PROPERTIES
MAGNETISM
MEV RANGE 100-1000
MOLYBDENUM ALLOYS
NICKEL ALLOYS
PELLETRON ACCELERATORS
SILVER IONS
TEMPERATURE RANGE 0273-0400 K
THIN FILMS
VACUUM COATING
VIBRATING SAMPLE MAGNETOMETERS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION