A sputter-deposited SmCo5 thin film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy has been developed. The Sm–Co film, composed of [Co (0.41 nm)/Sm (0.31 nm)]35, was prepared by sputtering on a Cu (100 nm)/glass substrate at various substrate temperatures. The coercivity was found to increase rapidly at 325–345°C and to be much greater in the direction perpendicular to the film surface than in the film plane. By using in-plane x-ray diffractometry, reflection peaks of the Sm–Co film deposited at 325–345°C were confirmed to originate from the SmCo5 phase, and the film showed a preferred orientation of the c-axis in the direction perpendicular to the film surface. The Co/Sm laminate structure deposited on the Cu seedlayer at an appropriate substrate temperature was found to be the key to promoting crystallization of the SmCo5 with its c-axis oriented perpendicular to the film surface.

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Thin films of SmCo5 with extraordinarily high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy were prepared by introducing a Cu∕Ti dual underlayer and controlling the substrate temperature during the sputter deposition. Under optimized conditions, the magnetic anisotropy constant reached 4.0×107erg∕cm3, and the coercivity and the remanence ratio in the direction perpendicular to the film surface were 12.0kOe and unity, respectively. The high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the high degree of preferred orientation of the c axis; the full width at half maximum in the rocking curve of SmCo5(002) reflection was 3.1°.

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