Engineering Superior Soft Magnetic Properties Through FeCo/Cr and FeCo/Fe Nanocrystalline Architectures

Soft magnetic materials are integral to various technologies, including high-frequency transformers, spintronic devices, and magnetic sensors, because of their low coercivity (HC) and high magnetization. This study investigates nanocrystalline Fe70Co30(100 nm)/Cr(2-10 nm) and Fe70Co30(100 nm)/Fe(2-10 nm) thin films, deposited via magnetron sputtering. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that Fe70Co30 films without buffer layers crystallize in a body-centered cubic phase. The Cr and Fe buffer layers enhance it by minimizing lattice mismatch and promoting a uniform crystalline growth of the Fe70Co30 layer. The most significant particle size variations observed were approximately 24% for the Cr buffer and 31% for the Fe buffer. Microstructural characterization using atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy identified nanograins with an average size of 30–80 nm. Magnetic characterization with a vibrating sample magnetometer showed a marked reduction in HC. Additionally, the remanence-to-saturation magnetization ratio remains nearly constant at 0.95 across all Fe-buffered films, whereas it increases from 0.80 to 0.92 in Cr-buffered films as the Cr thickness increases. The results highlight the importance of buffer layer engineering in enhancing the microstructural and magnetic properties of FeCo thin films, thereby increasing their suitability for advanced magnetic technologies.