Abstract
Fe1−xMnx sputtered alloy films made under several Ar gas pressures, PAr’s, have been investigated by X-ray diffraction measurements. The single bcc phase region extends up to about x=0.2 independently of PAr. However, in the Fe1−xMnx sputtered alloy films made under low PAr the bcc phase shows a larger lattice constant than that in the Fe–Mn bulk alloys, while in the films made under high PAr the bcc phase shows almost the same lattice constant as that in the bulk alloys. After being annealed at 470 K for two hours, the metastable bcc phase is still preserved being accompanied with a structural relaxation. After being annealed at 670 K for two hours, on the other hand, a phase separation into the thermally equilibrium bcc and fcc phases takes place, probably because the atomic diffusion at low temperatures is enhanced by a large amount of lattice defects contained in the Fe1−xMnx sputtered alloy films.
