Effect of Ta buffer layer and thickness on the structural and magnetic properties of Co thin films

Single Co and Ta/Co bilayers were grown on Si(100) substrates in a magnetron sputtering system. The effect of Ta buffer layer and the thickness of Co layer on the structural and magnetic properties of the Co layers has been studied. A single Co layer shows a textured structure above thickness of 40...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of vacuum science & technology. B, Microelectronics and nanometer structures processing, measurement and phenomena Microelectronics and nanometer structures processing, measurement and phenomena, 2009-09, Vol.27 (5), p.2112-2116
Main Authors: Vahaplar, K., Tari, S., Tokuc, H., Okur, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Single Co and Ta/Co bilayers were grown on Si(100) substrates in a magnetron sputtering system. The effect of Ta buffer layer and the thickness of Co layer on the structural and magnetic properties of the Co layers has been studied. A single Co layer shows a textured structure above thickness of 40 nm according to the x-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern. The magnetic properties of Co layers depend significantly on the thickness of the films. Ta grows as highly textured β -Ta (tetragonal) phase on Si with a smooth surface. The XRD and atomic force microscopy results show that the Ta buffer layer improves the structural properties dramatically, resulting in a strongly textured and smoother surface morphology. The Ta layer also affects the magnetic properties of Co layers to a large extent, especially inducing an in-plane anisotropy in thin Co films.
ISSN:1071-1023
1520-8567
DOI:10.1116/1.3196784