Stripe domains and spin reorientation transition in Fe78B13Si9 thin films produced by rf sputtering

Magnetic thin films have been obtained by rf sputtering from an amorphous Fe(78)B(13)Si(9) target. The samples have been produced with thickness t ranging in the interval 25-1000 nm. Microstructural investigations indicate that the films have different microstructures varying from fully amorphous to partially nanocrystalline with increasing t. Magnetic hysteresis loops have been measured by means of high-sensitive magnetometry. A tailorable spin reorientation transition (SRT) from in-plane single-domain-like to out-of-plane multidomain state with increasing film thickness was observed. Magnetic force microscopy images have been obtained for all samples indicating that for t <= 80 nm the magnetization lies in the film plane. For larger thickness, a stripe domain pattern has been observed, indicating the presence of a magnetic anisotropy axis perpendicular to the film plane. In this work, SRT and stripe domain structure have been studied as a function of thickness and sample microstructure. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.