Heavy-ions for controlled modification of magnetic thin films and multilayers

Ajay Gupta
UGC-DAE Consortum for Scientific Research, University Campus, Khandwa road,
Indore-452017

Magnetic thin films and multilayers are an important class of nanostructured

materials with wide ranging applications in magnetic memory devices, sensors, high
frequency cores for inductors etc. Heavy ion irradiation has been an effective tool to
modify the properties of such nanostructures in a controlled manner. Swift heavy
ions have several advantages over low energy ions in terms of depth of modification
and low ion fluences, etc. Various effects induced by heavy ion irradiation include,
stress relaxation, atomic ordering/disordering, interface mixing. Specific examples of
both soft-magnetic (Fe-nitride) as well as hard-magnetic (FePt, CoPt) films will be
taken in order to demonstrate the use of heavy ions in controlled modification of their
magnetic properties.

Understanding of the atomic level processes responsible for these effects is important
from both basic as well as application points of view. Results will be presented on
the use of some novel x-ray based techniques towards understanding the heavy ion
induced effects in thin films and multilayers. i) nuclear resonance reflectivity in
isotopic multilayers [1] has been used to study the irradiation induced atomic
diffusion of Fe in compositionally homogeneous films of Fe, Fe-nitride and FePt.
The results are being interpreted in terms of possible mechanism of irradiation
induced atomic motion. ii) In case of multilayers, depth resolved information about
various phases formed across the interfaces has been obtained using x-ray
fluorescence and XAFS under standing wave conditions [2]. This information in tern
would be useful in understanding the irradiation induced changes in the magnetic
properties, as well as the mechanism of the induced changes. A better understanding
of the atomic level mechanisms involved in ion beam induced modification will help
in a better harnessing of the technique.

[1] Ajay Gupta, Mukul Gupta, Sujoy Chakravarty, Rudolf Rüffer, Hans-Christian
Wille, Olaf Leupold, Phys. Rev. B 72 (2005) 014207.
[2] Ajay Gupta, Parasmani Rajput, and Carlo Meneghini, Phys. Rev. B 76, 195401
(2007); Ajay Gupta, Dileep Kumar, and Carlo Meneghini, Phys. Rev. B 75 (2007)
064424.
- stress relaxation
o improvement in soft magnetic properties - FeN
- structural transformation
o amorphization –
o order-disordertransformation – FePt

- Interface modification
o Variation in interface roughness – Fe/Cr
o Interface mixing – Fe/Si
- non-equilibrium phase formation
o miscible systems
o immissible systems – Fe/Ag

- Atomic level mechanism of ion-induced modification

o Irradiation induced atomic motions
 Nuclear resonance reflectivity
o Depth resolved structural studies across the interfaces
 X-ray standing waves