• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.3-9
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• 2008

Al-Co-N thin films, Al-Co-N/Al-N and Al-Co-N/Al-Co multilayers containing various amounts of Co content were deposited by using a two-facing targets type dc sputtering (TFTS) system. The films were also annealed successively and isothermally at different annealing temperatures. Irrespective of Co content and preparation methods, all the as-deposited films were observed non-magnetized. It was found that annealing conditions can control the magnetic and electrical properties as well as the microstructure of the films.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.34 no.10
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• pp.506-514
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• 2024

High-frequency soft magnetic Ni, Fe, and Co-based thin films have been developed, typically as nanocrystals and amorphous alloys. These Ni, Fe, and Co-based thin films exhibit remarkably good frequency dependence up to high frequencies of several tens of MHz. These properties arise from the moderate magnetic anisotropy and fairly high electrical resistivity that result from the microstructural characteristics of the nanocrystalline and amorphous states. In this paper, Al-Co/AlN-Co and Al-N/AlN-Co multilayer films were deposited using two-facing-target type sputtering (TFTS). Their microstructures, magnetic and electrical properties were studied with the expectation that inserting Al-Co or Al-N as an interlayer could effectively reduce the coercive force and produce films with relatively high resistivity. A new approach is presented for the fabrication of Al-Co (Al-N)/AlN-Co multilayer films, prepared with the TFTS system. The deposited films were isothermally annealed at different temperatures and investigated for microstructure, magnetic properties and resistivity. The TFTS method used in this experiment is suitable for fabricating Al-Co(Al-N)/AlN-Co multilayer films with different layer thickness ratio (LTR). The annealing conditions, thickness of the multilayer film, and LTR can control the physical properties as well as the microstructure of the manufactured film. Magnetization and resistance increased and coercivity decreased as LTR decreased. The thin film with LTR = 0.175 exhibited high resistivity values of 2,500 µΩ-cm, magnetization of 360 emu/cm³, and coercivity of 5 Oe. Results suggests that thin films with such good resistivity and magnetization would be useful as high-density recording materials.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.50 no.3
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• pp.248-255
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• 2012

AlN thin films containing various amounts of Co, AlN-Co, and Al-Co alloy particles were prepared using a two-facing-target type dc reactive sputtering (TFTS) system. The as-deposited films exhibited the variable nature expected from an AlN-rich phase, and an amorphous-like phase, depending on the Co content in the films. Specific favorable microstructures were prepared by optimizing annealing conditions. Those microstructures and their magnetic properties and resistivity were investigated. As-deposited films showed very small saturation magnetization and an amorphous-like structure. However, when annealed, the as-deposited amorphous-like phase decomposes into phases of AlN, Co and Al-Co. These annealing induced changes in the microstructure improve the magnetization and resistivity of the films. Further improvement of soft magnetic properties could lead to the material being used for high density magnetic recording head material.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.331-337
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• 2010

Aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films containing various amounts of Co content have been deposited by using a two-facing targets type sputtering (TFTS) system. The deposited films were also annealed successively and isothermally at different temperatures. Annealing treatment can control the physical properties as well as the microstructure of AlN films with Co particles. High magnetization and high resistivity are obtainable in AlN films containing dispersed Co particles. The coercivity of the films does not depend on annealing time, but it increases with increasing annealing temperature due to the increase of the grain size. A high saturation magnetization of 46 kG and resistivity of 2200 ${\mu}{\Omega}$-cm was obtained for AlN films containing 25 at% Co.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.256-263
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• 2011

We have synthesized Al-Co/AlN-Co multilayer films with different layer thicknesses by using a Two-Facing Target Type dc Sputtering (TFTS) system. The deposited films were annealed isothermally at different temperatures and their microstructure, magnetic properties and resistivity were investigated. The magnetization of the as-deposited films was found to be very small, irrespective of layer thickness. It was found that the annealing conditions and layer thickness ratio of Al-Co to AlN-Co (LTR) were able to control the microstructure, as well as the physical properties of the prepared films. The resistivity and magnetization increased and the coercivity decreased with a decreasing LTR. A high resistivity of 2500 ${\mu}{\Omega}-cm$, a magnetization of 360 $emu/cm^3$, and a coercivity of 5 Oe were obtained for the films with LTR=0.175.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.119-124
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• 2013

Nano-multilayered, crystalline AlTiSiN thin films were deposited on WC-TiC-Co substrates by the cathodic arc plasma deposition. The deposited film consisted of wurtzite-type AlN, NaCl-type TiN, and tetragonal $Ti_2N$ phases. Their oxidation characteristics were studied at 800 and $900^{\circ}C$ for up to 20 h in air. The WC-TiC-Co oxidized fast with large weight gains. By contrast, the AlTiSiN film displayed superior oxidation resistance, due mainly to formation of the ${\alpha}-Al_2O_3$-rich surface oxide layer, below which an ($Al_2O_3$, $TiO_2$, $SiO_2$)-intermixed scale existed. Their oxidation progressed primarily by the outward diffusion of nitrogen, combined with the inward transport of oxygen that gradually reacted with Al, Ti, and Si in the film.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.16-22
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• 2011

Al-Co/AlN-Co multilayer films with different layer thicknesses were prepared by using a two-facing target type D.C sputtering (TFTS) system. The deposited films were annealed isothermally at different temperatures and their microstructure, magnetic properties and resistivity were investigated. The magnetization of as-deposited films is very small irrespective of layer thickness. It was found that annealing conditions and layer thickness ratio (LTR) of Al-Co to AlN-Co can control the microstructure as well as the physical properties of the prepared films. The resistivity and magnetization increase and the coercivity decreases with decreasing LTR. High resistivity and sufficient magnetization were obtained for the films with LTR = 0.35. Films having such considerable magnetization and resistivity will be a potential candidate to be used for a high density recording material.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.163-167
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• 2004

TiAl(La)N thin films were oxidized in vacuum of about 7 Pa to reduce the oxidation of WC-Co as a substrate. The oxidation rate constants of the thin films were quantified by an assumption of parabolic oxidation. Increasing AI content significantly decreased the parabolic oxidation rate constant. A simultaneous addition of AI and La was more effective to reduce the oxidation rate. The parabolic oxidation rate constant of $Ti_{0.66}$ $Al_{0.32}$ $La_{ 0.02}$N thin film at 1273 K showed about ten times lower than that of TiN. The addition of a small amount of La with Al induced the preferential formation of dense $\alpha$ $-Al_2$$O_3$ film in oxide film, leading to the abrupt reduction of oxidation rate.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.268-275
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• 2010

A new approach is described for preparing AlN thin films containing various amounts of Co content by using a two-facing targets type sputtering (TFTS) system. The deposited films were annealed isothermally at different temperatures and their microstructure, magnetic properties and resistivity were investigated. A small saturation magnetization ($4{\pi}Ms=0.52{\sim}0.85kG$) was observed irrespective of Co content in the asdeposited films. It was found that annealing conditions can control physical properties as well as the microstructure of the films. A high saturation magnetization (3.7 kG) and resistivity of $2200{\mu}{\Omega}-cm$ was obtained for AlN films containing 25 at.% Co.

• Journal of the Korean Vacuum Society
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.20-25
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• 2013

ZnO:Al thin films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering were post-annealed and the electrical and optical properties of ZnO:Al thin films were investigated before and after anneling. We confirmed that the ZnO:Al thin film was affected by post-annealing temperature. As post-annealing temperature increases, crystallinity and transmittance in visible area (400~800 nm) of ZnO:Al thin films decreased. While sheet resistance of thin films increased sharply with increasing to $400^{\circ}C$. This result is due to reduce of carrier concentration caused by absorption of $O_2$ or $N_2$ at surface of thin film.