Abstract:
B2-ordered Co2FeAl films were synthesized using an ion beam deposition tool. A high degree of
chemical ordering 81.2% with a low damping parameter (a) less than 0.004 was obtained in a
50 nm thick film via rapid thermal annealing at 600 C. The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy
(PMA) was optimized in ultra thin Co2FeAl films annealed at 350 C without an external
magnetic field. The reduced thickness and annealing temperature to achieve PMA introduced
extrinsic factors thus increasing a significantly. However, the observed damping of Co2FeAl films
was still lower than that of Co60Fe20B20 films prepared at the same thickness and annealing
temperature.
