Thin film magnetism

Thin-film XRD is important in many technological applications, because of its abilities to accurately determine strains and to uniquely identify the presence and composition of phases. In semiconduaor and optical materials applications, XRD is used to measure the strain state, orientation, and defects in epitaxial thin films, which affect the film s electronic and optical properties. For magnetic thin films, it is used to identify phases and to determine preferred orientations, since these can determine magnetic properties. In metallurgical applications, it is used to determine strains in surfiice layers and thin films, which influence their mechanical properties. For packaging materials, XRD can be used to investigate diffusion and phase formation at interfaces... 

Cutiongco, E. C., Li, D., and Chung, Y. W., "Tribological Behavior of Amorphous Carbon Nitride Overcoats for Magnetic Thin-film Rigid Disks, 7. Tribol., Vol. 118, 1996, pp. 543-548. 

J. Bezemer and W. G. J. H. M. van Sark, Electronic, Optoelectronic and Magnetic Thin Films, Proceedings of the 8th International School on Condensed Matter Physics (ISCMP), Varna, Bulgaria, 1994, p. 219. Wiley, New York, 1995. 

The strong dependence of the magnetic properties on the microstructure of the magnetic alloy implies that the substrate will also influence the magnetics, since the substrate will affect the nucleation and growth, the structure, and the PO of the material deposited on it. For electrochemically deposited films, most studies have examined underlayer effects as secondary to other aspects of magnetic thin films. A few relevant papers dealing primarily with the effects of underlayers can nevertheless be mentioned here. 

Magnetic thin films of nickel-iron (usually deposited at an 80 20 composition by weight) exhibit a number of unusual properties, which have led to many experimental and theoretical studies, as well as to impoitant applications in binary storage and switching, magnetic amplifiers, and magneto-optical Kerr-effect displays,... 

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