INFLUENCE OF Fe/Si THICKNESS RATIO ON STRUCTURAL AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF Fe3Si FILMS FABRICATED BY SPUTTERING

The structural and magnetic properties of Fe3Si films fabricated by layered sputtering on Si substrates dependent on the Fe/Si thickness ratio varying from 2:1 to 4:1 were investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that over the whole range of the Fe/Si thickness ratio considered, all films consist of the polycrystalline Fe3Si phase. The film produced with the Fe/Si thickness ratio of 3:1 shows relatively high structural quality. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images reveal that the film layer can be clearly observed and the thickness of the film layer at Fe/Si thickness ratio of 3:1 is the thinnest. From the analysis of the magnetization curves, all of these films exhibit ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The sample at Fe/Si thickness ratio of 3:1 shows a high [Formula: see text] value of [Formula: see text]831[Formula: see text]emu/cm3, which is slightly lower than the bulk value of Fe3Si. The variety of its coercive force [Formula: see text] is associated with the change of grain size [Formula: see text] through [Formula: see text], and the discrepancy between the [Formula: see text] values of these films and the bulk Fe3Si is due to defects pinning magnetic domain. Meanwhile, the electrical resistivity remarkably decreases with the increase of the Fe/Si thickness ratio.