Magnetostriction and anisotropy of amorphous Gd-Co r.f. sputtered thin films

The measurements of magnetostriction and anisotropy of r.f. sputtered amorphous Gd1−xCox thin films are reported. Both were measured in the range of composition x=0.667–0.835 using cantilever-capacitance method. The perpendicular anisotropy Ku and saturation magnetostriction λs reach extremal values in the vicinity of the compensation composition (for x=0.77), although Ku shows a minimum of ∼1×105erg/cm3, whereas (3/2) λs shows a maximum of ∼47×10−6. The experimental results are analysed within the frame of pair ordering model. A mechanism explaining the compositional dependence of magnetostriction is proposed.