Effect of Cobalt Concentration on Structural and Magnetic Properties of Co-Fe Thin Films

Co-Fe films were electrodeposited on Cu substrate from electrolytes with different Co concentration levels. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the films crystal structures. The results indicate that if the Co concentration is less that the Fe concentration, the cubic structure appears in the films, while the hexagonal structure dominates when the Co concentration is sufficiently more than the Fe concentration. The films composition was studied using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The EDX results indicate that increasing of the electrolyte Co concentration leads to an increase in the Co content in the Co-Fe alloy films but in a non-linear manor. Morphological observations by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the Co-Fe grain size increases when the electrolyte Co concentration is increased. Magnetic measurements by vibration sample magnetometer (VSM) show that the films have in-plane magnetization easy axes. Furthermore, the saturation magnetization increases as the Co concentration increases.