Correlation between local structure and magnetic behavior in co-sputtered TbxFe73Ga27−x (7 ≤ x ≤ 11) thin films

Abstract We report on the evolution of the microstructure of Tb-Fe-Ga films deposited by co-sputtering from Tb 33 Fe 67 and Fe 72 Ga 28 targets. The sputtering power was fixed (90 W) in the Fe 72 Ga 28 whereas it was increased from 50 to 90 W in the Tb 33 Fe 67 target resulting on Tb x Fe 73 Ga 27−x layers with 7 ≤ x ≤ 11. The local structure was determined by means of x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy at Fe-K, Ga-K and Tb-L 3 edges. The increase of Tb in the alloy promotes the phase segregation that produces a larger amount of the TbFe 2 structural phase. The structural results have been correlated with the magnetic characterization that shows the enhancement of the out-of-plane component of the magnetization.