Soft magnetic thin films: influence of annealing on magnetic properties

Soft magnetic materials are currently used in a variety of applications in electrical machines, sensors and elements of devices. If prepared in thin film form, they can be applied to micro- and nano-patterned devices. However, with respect to ribbons and bulk materials, thin films of the same composition usually display worse soft magnetic properties, thus requiring suitable solutions to restore high permeability and low coercivity. In this review, the magnetic properties of thin films prepared by sputtering are presented. Several compositions of soft magnetic materials are investigated, including Co-Fe-Si-B, Fe-Cu-Nb-Si-B, Fe-Si-B, Fe-Co- Nb-Si-P-B, Fe-Zr-Nb-Cu-B. Their amorphous-to-crystallization processes are studied by means of furnace annealing and Joule heating. Hysteresis loops and magnetic domain imaging, together with structural techniques, are used to follow the effects of annealing, which include stress relaxation and crystallization. The effects of magnetic field annealing are investigated and discussed.