Thickness dependence of magnetic properties in DyFeCo films

Films of amorphous DyFeCo were deposited on glass substrates using RF sputtering deposition system. The thickness dependence of the coercivity of DyFeCo films prepared under the same sputtering conditions was investigated. It is found that the composition is nearly thickness independent, while the coercivity is shown to increase with the film thickness increasing at the beginning, then above a certain thickness decrease with the thickness increasing. The thickness dependence of the coercivity is believed to be due to microstructure-induced variations in the short-range order during the film growth.