Structural and Magnetic Properties of Amorphous and Nanocrystalline CoFeSiB Thin Films.

This study examined the structural, magnetic, and transport properties of CoFeSiB films with various Co compositions. The main focus was on two samples, amorphous Co74Fe4Si14B8 and nanocrystalline Co78Fe2Si12B8 thin films. The results show that the amorphous film is a typical soft magnetic material, while the nanocrystalline film has a large saturation field. It is believed that in a nanocrystalline thin film, a large saturation field is caused by antiferromagnetic exchange at the boundary between the amorphous and nanocrystalline phases. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]