Formation, structure, and magnetic changes at annealing of films deposited by laser sputtering of Ni and Pd

The electron microscopy investigations of Pd, Ni, and Ni-Pd alloy films are carried out. The films were produced by laser sputtering of one- and two-element targets. It is shown that, in the case of alternate deposition of nickel and palladium, polycrystalline films with a metastable hcp lattice are formed. The hcp lattice parameters increase monotonically with increasing palladium content in the film. As a result of the annealing, Ni and Ni-Pd alloy films acquire an equilibrium fcc structure. A positive deviation from Vegard's law occurs for the dependence of the lattice parameter of the solid solution on the Pd concentration. The as-prepared Ni and Ni-Pd alloy films with the hcp structure are characterized by the absence of a magnetic moment. The transition into the ferromagnetic state occurs after annealing, and hysteresis is observed upon magnetization reversal.