Electrodeposition of thin magnetic films in the NiSingle Bond signFeSingle Bond signCu system

Abstract

A method for the electrodeposition of highly oriented thin magnetic film has been developed, with which it is possible to control, quite reproducibly, the composition of the film not only over large areas, but also throughout the film thickness. This is especially important in memory applications where magnetostriction must be carefully minimized to avoid skew effects and aging. 400- Å films have been electrodeposited on substrates of evaporated copper or silver on glass, such that they yield a coercive force of 5 Oe, anisotropy field of 4 Oe, and a dispersion of 3 deg (α90). At 1000 Å the dispersion is uniformly 1°. The properties and their thickness dependence are found to be very similar to those found in NiSingle Bond signFe evaporated films. A ternary alloy (68 Ni, 16 Fe, 16 Cu) is used to achieve control over the deposition process. The films are deposited from a highly buffered, dilute, nonagitated bath using a sequence of current pulses. 120 Å is deposited per pulse. © 1967 The American Institute of Physics.