Control of Structural and Magnetic Properties of Polycrystalline Co(2)FeGe Films via Deposition and Annealing Temperatures

Thin polycrystalline Co(2)FeGe films with composition close to stoichiometry have been fabricated using magnetron co-sputtering technique. Effects of substrate temperature (T(S)) and post-deposition annealing (T(a)) on structure, static and dynamic magnetic properties were systematically studied. It is shown that elevated T(S) (T(a)) promote formation of ordered L2(1) crystal structure. Variation of T(S) (T(a)) allow modification of magnetic properties in a broad range. Saturation magnetization ~920 emu/cm(3) and low magnetization damping parameter α ~ 0.004 were achieved for T(S) = 573 K. This in combination with soft ferromagnetic properties (coercivity below 6 Oe) makes the films attractive candidates for spin-transfer torque and magnonic devices.