TEXTURE IN MAGNETIC ANNEALED TERFENOL-D FILMS

The paper will present an approach to obtaining (111) textured Terfeno l-D films suitable for use in magnetostrictive devices. Amorphous thin films of Terfenol-D were rf magnetron sputter deposited on (100) sili con single crystal substrates. A composite target was used to obtain t he Terfenol-D films. Samples were subsequently annealed in the range o f 300 to 600 degrees C in the presence of a 2000 Oe magnetic field for times of 15 min to 1 h. X-ray diffraction studies were performed usin g a Siemens D5000 diffractometer to examine the changes in the preferr ed crystalline orientation in films with changes in annealing time, an nealing temperature, and field orientation. The magnetic properties we re examined using a Micromag 2900 alternating gradient magnetometer. M agnetic annealing at 450 degrees C showed the best combination of magn etic properties. The films exhibited in-plane H-c values in the range of near zero to 350 Oe and M(s) values in the range of 200 to 550 emu/ cc. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.