SYNTHESIS AND MAGNETIC-PROPERTIES OF IRON NITRIDE FILMS DEPOSITED ON GE(100) BY REACTIVE ION-BEAM SPUTTERING

Iron nitride films were deposited on Ge(100) wafers by a reactive ion beam sputter deposition of iron in an ammonia atmosphere, The composit ion and microstructure of these films were monitored by Rutherford bac kscattering spectroscopy analyses and x-ray diffraction experiments. T he magnetic properties of these films were determined by a vibrating s ample magnetometer. It was found that Ge(100) substrate is profitable for epitaxial growth of the alpha '' phase, The optimum ammonia pressu re for alpha'/alpha '' phase formation was about 5 x 10(-4) Torr. The saturation magnelization sigma(s) of each as-deposited Fe-N film is hi gher than that of a pure iron film. However, the film with the highest alpha'/alpha '' phase content did not exhibit the largest alpha(s) va lue. The variation of sigma(s) of the Fe-N films during annealing at a temperature of 180 degrees C in a flowing nitrogen atmosphere was als o investigated. It was found that there is no direct relationship betw een the higher sigma(s) values and the alpha'/alpha '' phase in these Fe-N films. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.