ABSTRACTA comparison between the morphology and magnetic properties has been made with thin films of Fe grown on GaAs(lOO) and of Ni grown on natural mica in the 10Å to 1000Å thickness range, in ultra high vacuum. The films are characterized in-situ by Auger spectroscopy and by an in-situ UHV M/H hysteresis loop tracer. If the films are thermally annealed, above 550°C for less than a few seconds, the film morphology changes. The Fe films form surface assembled clusters which are epitaxial with the GaAs substrate with diameters of order of the original average film thickness, while the Ni films grow large grains. The Auger signals show that the Fe clustering exposes the GaAs substrate while the Ni films are continuous and cover the mica substrate. In-situ adsorption studies of CO on the Ni films were consistent with the continuous nature of the Ni films. Hysteresis M/H curves are taken as a function of thickness and plots of coercivity versus film thickness or average cluster size shows a maximum near 100Å for both the Ni and the Fe films. The maximum is believed to be due to a trade-off between super-paramagnetism and magnetostatic forces, but with the grains in the Ni film playing the role of the clusters in the Fe film.
Role of substrate on film thickness, structural, compositional and magnetic properties of CoNi alloy thin films by low temperature electrodeposition technique