In this research, amorphous Co88Zr2Nb10 thin films having soft magnetic properties were prepared by DC-Magnetron Sputtering and RF-Sputtering on glass and Mylar substrates. The effects of some processing parameters, such as, distance between target and substrate and temperature of the substrate were studied on microstructure and thickness of the thin films. The rates of deposition in RF-sputtering were an oder of magnitude higher than that in DC-magnetron sputtering.
The results of experiments by X-Ray Diffractometry (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that the thickness of the CoZrNb thin films were about 300nm and the structure of the films were amorphous Although occasionally, some nanocrystalline phases were also detected in the microstructure.
Amorphous CoZrNb thin films have potential to use in many applications, such as magnetic recording heads and electromagnetic article surveillance systems.