Process for obtaining a thin, insulating, soft magnetic film of high magnetization
AssigneesSTMicroelectronics S.r.l., Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
InventorsGuillaume Bouche, Pascal Ancey, Bernard Viala, Sandrine Couderc
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thin soft magnetic film combines a high magnetization with an insulating character. The film is formed by nitriding Fe-rich ferromagnetic nanograins immersed in an amorphous substrate. A selective oxidation of the amorphous substrate is then performed. The result is a thin, insulating, soft magnetic film of high magnetization. Many types of integrated circuits can be made which include a component using a membrane incorporating the above-mentioned thin film.
Claims30
A process for obtaining a thin, insulating, soft magnetic film of high magnetization, comprising nitriding of Fe-rich ferromagnetic nanograins immersed in an amorphous substrate, and selectively oxidizing only the amorphous substrate.
A method, comprising:
- in situ nitriding of nanograins which are immersed in an amorphous substrate;
- and
- in situ selective oxidizing only the amorphous substrate, so as to form a thin film.
A process, comprising:
- cathode sputtering a plurality of a FeX layers in a stream of nitrogen and oxygen, the layers being grown in a uniaxial magnetic field;
- selecting degrees of enrichment for the nitrogen and oxygen so that the sputtering produces a thin film composed of a nitrided nanostructure comprising FeXN nanograins randomly distributed in an oxidized X-rich amorphous matrix;
- wherein X is selected from the group consisting of Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Hf, Ta, W, Ir, Pt, Al, Si, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Cu and the lanthanides.
A process, comprising:
- cathode sputtering a plurality of alternating FeXN and XO layers;
- selecting a degree of enrichment for nitrogen in sputtering so as to produce FeXN layers each comprising a thin film composed of a nitrided nanostructure comprising FeXN nanograins randomly distributed in an X-rich amorphous matrix;
- annealing the FeXN and XO layers to selectively diffuse oxygen from the XO layers into the X-rich amorphous matrix of the FeXN layers;
- wherein X is selected from the group consisting of Zr, Nb, Mo, Ru, Rh, Pd, Hf, Ta, W, Ir, Pt, Al, Si, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Cu and the lanthanides.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.