IRON THIN FILMS BY MEANS OF DUAL ION-BEAM SPUTTERING.

Dual ion-beam sputtering from high-purity targets was used to form iron thin-films with improved magnetic chemical properties. Films obtained were amorphous according to X-ray diffraction studies, and while coercivity (H//c ) increased for ion accelerating voltage (V//s //g ) above 140 V, the saturation magnetization (4 pi M//s ) first increased with increasing V//s //g and then fell off. Normal hysteresis loops were obtained for films formed with V//s //g equals 0 to 115 V, but films formed at 155 V had rotational hysteresis loops. By controlling the energy of ions deposited on the surface, it was possible to form films with a high 4 pi M//s and low H//c ; ion deposition also tended to make film compositions uniform and improve the atomic ordering.