Growth of electrodeposited Ni-Co and Fe-Co magnetic films on Cu substrates

Abstract

This paper reports on synthesis of Ni-Co alloy films using electrodeposition technique. The morphology and crystalline characteristics of the films have demonstrated dependence on deposition parameters. The electrolyte temperature and pH have shown to have the most influence on the crystallographic structure of the film. The microstructure, crystallographic texture and magnetic properties are studied by varying the substrate pretreatment and deposition parameters. The dependence of the surface morphology has been investigated by employing SEM, XRD, EDAX and AFM. X-ray diffraction analyses have revealed the polycrystalline nature of the films, the average crystallite size, and the crystal orientation that has dependence on temperature and pH of the electrolyte. VSM analysis has revealed that the coercivity has also dependence on temperature and pH of the bath due to variation of crystal orientation and crystallite size of the films on copper substrates. © 2007 IOP Publishing Ltd.