Structure and Magnetic Properties of Electrodeposited Fe-Cu Alloy Films

Fe-Cu alloys have been produced over a wide composition range by means of an electrodeposition method. The composition regions of a bcc phase for 0-70 at.% Cu and a fcc phase for 73-100 at.%Cu are extended. In the bcc phase region, the average saturation magnetization at room temperature decreases with increasing Cu concentration and deviates downwards from the simple dilution law. The fcc alloy film does not show ferromagnetism. In the composition region near the 73 at.%Cu, the X-ray diffraction lines corresponding to bcc-Fe and fcc-Cu become stronger and the magnetization increases with heat treatment at 300-500°C for 1 h.