The influence of deposition conditions on the magneto-optic effect in GdTbCo films

Magneto-optic effects of amorphous GdTbCo thin films prepared by r.f. sputter-deposition were studied as functions of fabrication parameters. Kerr rotation angles θ
κ
were found to be related to argon bleeding pressure and substrate table bias voltage applied during sputtering, but reflectivity did not vary significantly with these parameters. The variations in θ
κ
do not correlate with the cobalt content, but instead with the argon content of the films. Other researchers have shown correlation between anisotropy and argon content and we suggest that the correlation of anisotropy and θ
κ
may be indicative of a pair ordering mechanism. The compensation point of these films, however, was found to be dependent upon the cobalt content and independent of deposition conditions.