Characterization of hybrid amorphous-partially crystalline thin films

Amorphous FeCoBSi thin films with uniaxial anisotropy have been laterally structured by Co ion implantation into stripe arrays. The resulting multiphase samples were investigated regarding the magnetic properties. Hysteresis measurements revealed a large increase in coercivity of the implanted areas. By means of TEM investigations this could be attributed to formed crystallites in the amorphous matrix. Magneto-optical imaging was used to correlate the domain structure to the magnetic hysteresis. It is demonstrated that stripe orientation with respect to the magnetic easy axis governs the coupling between implanted and non implanted areas.