Abstract
Iron thin films were prepared by using an r. f. magnetron sputtering technique with multipolar magnetic plasma confinement, which is efficient for preparation of ferromagnetic thin films at a low gas pressure (1.1 Pa8 × 10-2 Pa). It is shown that lowering the sputtering gas pressure down to 8 × 10-2 Pa results in a significant decrease in the resistivity close to the bulk value of Fe. The intensity ratio of [FeOx] / ([Fe] + [FeOx]) obtained from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectra decreased with the lowering of the sputtering gas pressure. Also, the oxygen content in the film deposited at a low gas pressure of 8 × 10-2 Pa is reduced to below the detection limit of XPS. It is demonstrated that the intensity of Fe (110) peak using XRD increases as the sputtering gas pressure decreases.
