Development of a tensile-stress-induced anisotropy in amorphous magnetic thin films

Magnetic anisotropy was induced in positive magnetostrictive Fe80B20 and negative magnetostrictive Co75Si15B10 thin films by developing a tensile stress within the samples. The films were grown on the concave surfaces of mechanically bowed glass substrates. On releasing the substrates from the substrate holders, a tensile stress was developed within the samples that modified the domain structure. As a result of it, a magnetic easy axis parallel to the direction of the stress was induced in FeB sample whereas in CoSiB sample the induced easy axis was perpendicular to the direction of the developed stress. To produce magnetic multilayers with crossed anisotropy, FeB/CoSiB bilayers and FeB/Cu/CoSiB trilayers were grown on bowed substrates. The study of magnetic properties of the multilayers indicates the development of crossed anisotropy within them, particularly when the magnetic layers are separated by a nonmagnetic Cu layer. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.