Fe-nitride Thin Films Deposited Using Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc Technique

Nitrogen contained iron films were deposited on Si (100) substrate by using Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) technique under various N₂ pressure and at various substrate temperatures. Atomic force microscope, surface profile measuring system, x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetization were used to characterize the structural and magnetic properties of the films, respectively. The films exhibit a smooth surface and possess a polycrystalline structure. It was found that although the as-deposited films were α″ phase free, within a certain nitrogen concentration, the saturation magnetizations were still higher than that of the bulk pure Fe. This indicates that Fe⁺ ion or Fe^dipole formation possessing higher magnetic momentum upon nitridation. The study inspires the development of a new technique for deposition of magnetic films.