EP0288316A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Compositionally modulated, nitrided alloy films and method for making the same
Assignee: Panasonic Holdings Corp
•
Filing: 1988-04-25
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2008-04-25
Abstract
Abstract This invention relates to magnetic Fe alloy films in which at least nitrogen is compositionally modulated along the thickness of the film substantially in the form of a sine wave. By the compositional modulation, the Fe alloy film having high saturation magnetization is imparted with good resistances to corrosion and wear. The method of making a compositionally modulated Fe alloy film is described. The compositional modulation may be realized by merely superposing at least one nitrided layer and at least one nitride-free layer. The thermal treatment of the superposed layers is effective for the modulation where the content of the nitrogen in the film is compositionally modulated.
Inventors
- 👤 Hiroshi Sakakima
- 👤 Koichi Osano
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-10 01:16
CPC Classifications
C; C23; C23C; C23C14/00; C23C14/06; C23C14/0641; B; B82; B82Y; B82Y25/00; B82Y40/00; C23C14/14; C23C14/22; C23C14/34; C23C14/58; C23C14/5806; C23C14/5893; G; G11; G11B; G11B5/00; G11B5/127; G11B5/147; G11B5/31; H; H01; H01F; H01F10/00; H01F10/08; H01F10/10; H01F10/12; H01F10/13; H01F10/16; H01F10/32; H01F41/00; H01F41/14; H01F41/30; H01F41/302; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S428/00; Y10S428/922; Y10S428/9265; Y10S428/928; Y10T; Y10T428/00; Y10T428/12; Y10T428/12458; Y10T428/12493; Y10T428/12535; Y10T428/12576; Y10T428/12632
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
101 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film consisting essentially of an alloy having an average composition of the following general formula TaXbNc in which T represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Fe, Fe and Co, and Fe and Ni, X represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Si and Ga, and Ge and Al, N is nitrogen, 71≦a≦97,2≦b ≦28 and 1≦c: ≦20, each on the atomic percent basis, provided that a + b + c = 100, at least the nitrogen being compositionally modulated through the thickness of the film.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
101 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film consisting essentially of an alloy having an average composition of the following general formula TaXbNc in which T represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Fe, Fe and Co, and Fe and Ni, X represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Si and Ga, and Ge and Al, N is nitrogen, 71≦a≦97,2≦b ≦28 and 1≦c: ≦20, each on the atomic percent basis, provided that a + b + c = 100, at least the nitrogen being compositionally modulated through the thickness of the film.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
23 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according to Claim 1, wherein said film has a thickness of from 0.1 to 100 micrometers.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said film has a multilayered structure which comprises a plurality of layers of the nitrided alloy and a plurality of the layers of nitride-free alloys which are alternately superposed.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided alloy film according to Claim 3, wherein each layer has a thickness of from 50to 1000 angstroms.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein said film contains nitrogen throughout the film and the content of the nitrogen is modulated through the thickness of the film.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
23 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according to Claim 5, wherein said film has a modulation wavelength of less than 2000 angstroms.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
94 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said alloy has an average composition of the following formula Fe7 Siy N z T'a in which T' represents at least one member selected from the group consisting of Nb, Ta, Ti, Zr, Hf, Cr, Mo and W, and 70≦x≦97, 1≦y ≦20, 1≦z≦15 and 1≦ω≦10, each on the atomic percent basis, provided that x + 9 + Z + ω = 100, at least the the content of the nitrogen through the thickness of the film being compositionally modulated.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
73 words
A compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said alloy has an average composition of the following formula (Fe e Si f Rug ) (100-h)/100 N h in which 70≦e'≦96,3≦f'≦20,1≦g'≦6 and 1≦h'≦15, each on the atomic percent basis, provided that e + f + g + h = 100, and the content of the nitrogen through the thickness of the film being compositionally modulated.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
85 words
A method for making a compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film which comprises providing a target of a nitride-free Fe alloy, and subjecting said target to sputtering first in an Ar gas atmosphere for a time sufficient to form a nitride-free Fe alloy layer on a substrate and then in the Ar gas atmosphere to which nitrogen gas is added to a level of from 0.1 to 50% by partial pressure, so that a nitrided alloy layer is formed on the nitride-free Fe alloy layer.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
85 words
A method for making a compositionally modulated, nitrided magnetic alloy film which comprises providing a target of a nitride-free Fe alloy, and subjecting said target to sputtering first in an Ar gas atmosphere for a time sufficient to form a nitride-free Fe alloy layer on a substrate and then in the Ar gas atmosphere to which nitrogen gas is added to a level of from 0.1 to 50% by partial pressure, so that a nitrided alloy layer is formed on the nitride-free Fe alloy layer.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
57 words
A method according to Claim 9, wherein the sputtering in the Ar gas atmosphere and the nitrogen-added Ar gas atmosphere is repeated a desired number of times, whereby the resultant film has a multilayered structure consisting essentially of a plurality of the nitride-free Fe alloy layers and a plurality of the nitrided Fe alloy layers superposed alternately.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method according to Claim 9 or 10 further comprising annealing the resultant film under conditions sufficient to cause the nitrogen in the film to be compositionally modulated through the thickness of the film.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to Claim 11, wherein the annealing is effected at a temperature of from 300 to 700° C for a time sufficient to cause the compositional modulation.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.