Magneto-elastic and magnetic domain properties of Fe81Ga19/Si(100) films

Fe81Ga19 films were deposited on Si(100) substrates at room temperature by the dc magnetron sputtering method. Each film sample was rectangular: the length (L) and the width (w). From the curvature measurement on the film surface, we found that the principal stresses in the film are compressive and anisotropic. Based on the magneto-elastic theory, the true easy axis of the Fe81Ga19/Si(100) film should be parallel to the minimum stress axis. In addition, we discovered that the Fe81Ga19/Si(100) film is an inverted film (i.e., its HC is larger than HK, where HC is the coercive force and HK is the anisotropy field). The magnetic domain (MD) structures were examined with a magnetic force microscope. After the external field HE (parallel to L) was increased to saturation and then decreased to zero, the MD pattern showed the labyrinth structure. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.