Effect of annealing on the compensation temperature of RE-TM amorphous films

The effect of annealing on the compensation temperature of Gd-Co and Gd-Fe thin films, which are prepared by rf-sputtering without dc bias fields at low temperatures (100-150°C), were studied. It is found that the changes of T
comp
in vacuum are faster than that in air. XPS studies showed that oxygen not only bonds preferentially to Gd atoms, but also reacts with the Co atoms (Fe atoms) in air annealing. The oxidation of Co atoms (Fe atoms) leads to a slow rate of change in T
comp
after annealing in air.