Magnetic Properties of Fe-X-N (X=Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta) Films

Fe-X-N (X=Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta) ternary system films containing ultra-fine α-Fe crystal grains, and whose elements X have a strong affinity for nitrogen that may form amorphous phases, were prepared by sputtering. The dependence of the soft magnetic properties on the film composition was Then investigated. Good soft magnetic properties and high saturation flux density B
_s
were obtained in each system. In particular, the Fe-Zr-N and Fe-Hf-N systems had a wide soft magnetic range, and films at certain compositions in these systems exhibited zero magnetostriction and high B
_s
values of up to 16 kG.