| Cobalt-nickel alloys show large values of magnetostriction, magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and a martensitic phase transformation at temperatures around 0 K. Collectively, these properties make Co-Ni alloys good candidates for the so-called giant magnetostrictive effect. Magnetostrictive (and giant magnetostrictive) alloys can be used to replace complex machinery (such as actuators) in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). For this reason, researchers have been investigating the magnetostrictive properties of thin films.; I grew and characterized films in the composition range Co: 10 wt% Ni to Co: 35 wt% Ni. Films were grown by electron beam evaporation and a variety of techniques including SEM, TEM, x-ray diffraction, and SQUID magnetometry were used to characterize the films.; A thorough background in elastic and non-elastic mechanisms of deformation (in relation to magnetostriction) is discussed. These topics include a semi-classical treatment of magnetoelasticity, superelasticity, and martensitic transformations.; An important result of this thesis is the complete magnetic and physical characterization for the entire range of Co-Ni thin films that undergo martensitic transformation. Extensive analysis of morphology, microstructure, phase, and magnetic data, developed a consistent picture of Co-Ni polycrystalline thin films in the composition range mentioned above.; Another important result was the development of a novel technique for measuring the value of the magnetostriction coefficient in thin films. The in-plane component of magnetostriction ( lips ) is determined by fitting a theoretical model (based on the Stoner-Wohlforth theory for uniaxial systems) to magnetization vs temperature (M vs T) data for cobalt-nickel thin films. My theoretical model predicts the effect of an imposed stress (or strain) on the in-plane component of saturation magnetization ( Mips ). The imposed stress (or strain) is due to a mismatch in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the film and substrate. The fit is accomplished by using lips as a fitting parameter. M vs T experiments were carried out on a variety of polycrystalline Co-Ni thin films grown on silicon oxide and silicon nitride. |
