Soft magnetism, magnetostriction and microwave properties of FeGaB thin films

J. Lou, Northeastern University
R. E. Insignares, Northeastern University
Z. Cai, Northeastern University
K. S. Ziemer, Northeastern University
M. Liu, Northeastern University
Nian X. Sun, Northeastern University

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Originally published in Applied Physics Letters, vol.91, no.18, Oct. 2007. doi: 10.1063/1.2804123

Abstract

A series of (Fe_100−yGa_y)_1−xB_x (x=0–21 and y=9–17) films were deposited; their microstructure, soft magnetism, magnetostrictive behavior, and microwave properties were investigated. The addition of B changes the FeGaB films from polycrystalline to amorphous phase and leads to excellent magnetic softness with coercivity <1>Oe, high 4πM_s, self-biased ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequency of 1.85 GHz, narrow FMR linewidth (X band) of 16–20 Oe, and a high saturation magnetostriction constant of 70 ppm. The combination of these properties makes the FeGaB films potential candidates for tunable magnetoelectric microwave devices and other rf/microwave magnetic device applications.