GEOMETRIC DEPENDENCE OF MAGNETIC ANISOTROPY IN THIN IRON FILMS. Technical Report No. 3

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1958

OSTI ID:4296884

Knorr, T G; Hoffman, R W

Thin iron films produced by vacuum deposition are observed to display a magnetic anisotropy dependent on the geometric location of the evaporating filament. A fiber axis structure is induced during the evaporation. if the direction of incidence of the metallic flux varies from a normal to the substrate this fiber axis tilts in a similar direction. As soon as the fiber axis is no longer normal to the plane of the film, magnetic anisotropy is produced. The variation of the tilt of the fiber axis correlates with and can be shown to account for the geometric dependence of the observed anisotropy. Calculations of the magnetic anisotropy expected in a film with a fiber axis structre and an anisotropic tensile stress in the plane of the film agree with the experimental observations for those films which show only rotational switching. Anisotropies of 3 x 10/sup 4/4 ergs/cm/sup 3/ were observed in iron films about 350 A thick prepared without the use of applied magnetic fields either during deposition or during a subsequent thermal anneal. (auth)

• Research Organization: Case Inst. of Tech., Cleveland
• NSA Number: NSA-13-002170
• OSTI ID: 4296884
• Report Number(s): AECU-3877
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

ANISOTROPY
ANNEALING
ENVIRONMENT
EVAPORATION
FILMS
IRON
MAGNETIC FIELDS
MAGNETISM
METALLURGY AND CERAMICS
STRESSES
THICKNESS
VACUUM