Effect of Light Elements on the Structure and Magnetic Properties for Microfabricated Sm(Fe-Co)-B Square Dot Arrays

Sm(Fe0.8Co0.2)12-B square dot arrays were fabricated using an electron-beam lithography system and an Ar-ion etching system, and several light elements were deposited as a cap layer on those samples. Post-annealing of the microfabricated films was then performed at various annealing temperatures to investigate the influence of crystal structure, magnetic properties, surface morphology and microstructure. It was confirmed that well-defined Sm(Fe0.8Co0.2)12-B square dot arrays and artificial grain boundaries could be successfully fabricated. Additionally, the coercivity increased from 1.20 T to 1.39 T through the microfabrication process with the deposition of a B4C cap layer.