Soft magnetism, magnetostriction, and microwave properties of FeGaB thin films

A series of (Fe100−yGay)1−xBx (x=0–21 and y=9–17) films were deposited; their microstructure, soft magnetism, magnetostrictive behavior, and microwave properties were investigated. The addition of B changes the FeGaB films from polycrystalline to amorphous phase and leads to excellent magnetic softness with coercivity <1Oe, high 4πMs, self-biased ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) frequency of 1.85GHz, narrow FMR linewidth (X band) of 16–20Oe, and a high saturation magnetostriction constant of 70ppm. The combination of these properties makes the FeGaB films potential candidates for tunable magnetoelectric microwave devices and other rf/microwave magnetic device applications.