Magnetic and magneto-optical properties of amorphous GdFePb films

Abstract

Amorphous alloys of composition (Gd,Fe)1−yPby with 0≤y≤0.18 have been prepared by co-deposition from three electron-gun sources onto glass substrates. The characterization of the films has been performed by electron probe microanalysis and by SIMS depth profiling. The magnetic and magneto-optical properties have been investigated in the temperature range of 4.2 K ≤T≤TC. From the temperature dependence of the saturation magnetization the compensation temperature is found to decrease strongly with increasing y, while the Curie temperature is less affected. The magneto-optical Faraday and Kerr rotation display a considerable increase with increasing Pb-content. The temperature behavior can be interpreted in terms of the mean-field analysis, indicating a pronounced influence of the Pb on the iron moment and the exchange constants.