Magnetic properties of amorphous thin films deposited by de-focused pulsed laser ablation

Amorphous thin films of composition Fe67Co18Si1B14 have been deposited onto glass substrates by KrF excimer laser ablation operating with 30 ns pulses at a repetition rate of 11 Hz and using a METGLAS2605CO(R) target as a function of the degree of focusing of the beam. We were able to deposit thin films and to prepare very soft magnetic amorphous thin films with a coercivity of about 400 A m(-1). This level of magnetic softness is appropriate for different technological applications of amorphous thin films. The de-focused laser deposition regime seems a suitable method for fabrication of soft thin films and may have additional advantages compared with traditional in-focus deposition.