Electroplating and characterization of cobalt-nickel-iron and nickel-iron for magnetic microsystems applications

The magnetic properties of pulse reverse (PR) electroplated CoNiFe and DC e lectroplated NiTe are presented. CoNiFe is a very promising material for ma gnetic microsystems due to the possibility of achieving a high saturation f lux density (B-s) and a low coercivity (H-c). A new bath formulation has be en developed, which by means of PR electroplating makes it possible to depo sit high B-s CoNiFe with a low residual stress level. The magnetic properti es have been determined using a new simple measurement setup that allows fo r wafer level characterization. The results have been validated by comparis on to measurements performed with a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.