Pulsed excimer laser deposition of Permalloy thin films: structural and electrical properties

¹ Centre de Recherche Nucléaire d'Alger, 2 Bd Frantz Fanon, BP 399, Alger-Gare, Alger, Algeria
² Département de Physique, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Sétif, 19000 Algeria
³ Division milieux ionisés et laser, Centre de Développement des Technologies Avancées, Baba Hassen, Alger, Algeria
⁴ Centre de Recherche Nucléaire de Draria, BP 43, Draria, Alger, Algeria

Corresponding author: guittoum@yahoo.fr

Received: 19 December 2007
Revised: 17 March 2008
Accepted: 1 April 2008
Published online: 4 June 2008

Abstract

We report on the effect of thickness on the structural and electrical properties of permalloy thin films Ni₈₁Fe₁₉ (Py). Permalloy films were deposited onto Si(100) substrates at room temperature using a KrF (wavelength of 248 nm, pulse duration of 30 ns) excimer laser at a fluence of 3 J/cm². The thickness ranges from 25 nm to 250 nm. The micrographs reveal the formation of irregular droplets with dimensions between 4.6 μm and 0.24 μm. We show that all samples presented a strong texture. The lattice constant (a) monotonously increases with increasing thickness. Also, we note that for thickness below 127 nm, the lattice constant (a) is lower than the bulk value, however, for thickness more than 127 nm, (a) is higher than . The grain size increases from 30 nm to 54 nm as the thickness increases from 45 nm to 250 nm. The different contributions to the electrical resistivity are investigated as a function of the Py thickness.