Influence of ion beam assisted deposition parameters on the growth of MgO and CoFeB.

The effect of the kinetic parameters of an assistance ion beam on the crystallization of ion beam deposited MgO was investigated. It is shown that the crystallization of MgO in the as-deposited state is strongly dependent on the assistance beam parameters. Furthermore, two deposition regimes corresponding to different ranges of the assistance beam energy are found. XRD and TEM studies of CoFeB/MgO/CoFeB with MgO deposited in the two regimes show that CoFeB crystallization is favored when low energy assist beams are used, despite no differences being found in the MgO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]