Infrequent trigonal crystal system CoNb thin films: Investigation of growth behavior, microstructure and magnetic properties

Magnetic films with excellent initial permeability, high resonance frequency, suitable anisotropy fields, and well compatibility are highly desirable for on-chip inductors and transformers. Here, Co90Nb10 thin films with different thicknesses are grown on Si substrates of different orientations using an electron beam evaporation technique. A rare trigonal crystal structure of the CoNb films was observed and was virtually unaffected by substrate orientation. Films grown exhibit thickness-dependent magnetic behavior: coercivity initially decreases and then increases, while the in-plane anisotropy field progressively diminishes. Meanwhile, the initial permeability increases initially before decreasing, and the resonance frequency continuously decreases as the thickness increases. The resultant Co90Nb10/Si (111)-50 nm film displays a high mu i of 496 and a great fr of 2.1 GHz. The improved magnetic performance originates from the smaller crystallite size, smoother surface roughness, and suitable in-plane anisotropy field. Moreover, the in-plane anisotropy transition to the out-of-plane anisotropy in the Co90Nb10 films whose thickness exceeds 70 nm, which is attributed to the growth of the coarse columnar grains once the critical thickness is exceeded. This study demonstrates the correlation between the growth behavior, microstructure, and magnetic properties of CoNb thin films, presenting a new potential for utilizing Cobased thin films in high-frequency applications.