Amorphous Magnetic Films

Abstract

IRON has been vapour-deposited on to amorphous carbon substrates at room temperature and examined, while it was being deposited, by direct-recording electron diffraction¹. Fig. 1 shows electron-intensity profiles along a radius vector of the Debye-Scherrer pattern. Successive traces recur every 50 sec at film thickness increments of about 20 Å. In Fig. 1a the profiles correspond to an amorphous structure; however, as the film grows sharp peaks appear, beginning in the final trace, These sharp peaks grow rapidly, initially at the expense of the diffuse ones; compare the first and fourth traces in Fig. 1b. The sharp peaks are those of normal b.c.c. iron, with measured lattice spacing 2.87 Å. If the deposition is continued beyond the stage represented by trace 4, Fig. 1b, there is little further change in the shape of the diffraction profiles but their intensities diminish as the film becomes more opaque.