Pulsed laser deposition of granular Co-Ag thin films

An investigation into the microstructural properties of CoxAg1-x films, grown by pulsed laser deposition, as a function of deposition and post-deposition annealing temperature is reported. Surface morphology and microstructure were investigated by XPS, SEM and TEM measurements. Magnetic measurements were used to gain further information on particle size distributions through the analysis of the temperature dependence of the irreversible magnetization, Depending on cobalt content, deposition and post-deposition annealing temperature, the maximum of the cobalt grains diameter distribution was estimated to be in the range 26 nm,