Soft magnetism, magnetostriction, and microwave properties of FeGaB thin films

A series of (Fe100- yGay)(1- x)B-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 4 pi M-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. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.