Magnetic properties of electroplated nano/microgranular NiFe thin films for rf application.

A granular NiFe thin film with large in-plane magnetic anisotropy and high ferromagnetic-resonance frequency developed for radio-frequency integrated circuit (IC) applications is presented. During the deposition, three-dimensional (3D) growth occurs, yielding NiFe grains (ϕ∼1.0 μm). Nanonuclei (ϕ∼30-50 nm) are observed in single NiFe grains by atomic-force microscopy (AFM). The in-plane magnetic anisotropy is estimated to be ∼50 mT. The frequency-dependent complex permeability is extracted. By taking the NiFe film as a magnetic core, solenoid-type inductors are fabricated and demonstrated and show a high operating frequency (∼5.5 GHz) with a maximum quality factor (∼3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]