Interface influence on the properties of Co90Fe10 films on soft magnetic underlayers - Magnetostrictive and Mössbauer spectrometry studies

The main aim of the work was to show the correlation between magnetostrictive properties and microstructure of 25 nm thick Co90Fe10 films deposited on soft magnetic underlayers. A special attention was paid to the role of the interface region. In the case of Co90Fe10 on 25 nm and 35 nm thick METGLAS underlayers one can resolve in conversion electron Mössbauer spectra two hyperfine field distributions (high-field and medium-field ones) corresponding to both constituents of bilayers. Analogical distributions describe the spectra of Co90Fe10 on 25 nm and 35 nm thick Ni81Fe19 underlayers, however an additional low-field, smeared component has been observed. It has been attributed to the interface layer (of partially disordered structure) between magnetostrictive layer and soft magnetic layer. Such interpretation is backed up by the obtained strong correlation between mean hyperfine field value and magnetostriction constant of the films. The investigated bilayers are good candidates for MRAM devices.