Texture of Evaporated NiFe Thin Films

Abstract

The texture of 28 evaporated NiFe thin films, of various compositions, were determined by the Geiger counter x‐ray reflection technique. The grain orientation of the thin films is described by one of the following three textures; random, [111] fiber axis, or a [311] fiber axis. The development of a texture was influenced by the temperature of the substrate during deposition. The coercive force and the selectivity, which is a measure of the slope of the sides of the hysteresis loop, of the films were measured on a 60‐cycle hysteresis loop tracer. Only the selectivity was found to be related to the texture of the films. Films with a [311] fiber axis had a selectivity less than 0.5, while films with a [111] fiber axis had a selectivity of 0.5 or greater.