Mechanisms of High Coercivity in Ni/NiO Composite Films by Post Annealing

摘要

A coercivity as large as 2.4 kOe has been achieved in the Ni/NiO composite film after an annealing under a magnetic field of 10 kOe and an O2 partial pressure of 0.001 torr. The coercivity was attributed to the strong exchange coupling of Ni and NiO. Small grain size of Ni and NiO was observed after the post-annealing. The enhanced coercivity is probably associated with the domain wall pinning by local energy minima, the distribution of Ni and NiO, and the domain structure in the interface of Ni/NiO generated under the presence of the magnetic field during the post-annealing.