Evolution of the structural and magnetic properties of sputtered TbxFe73Ga27-x (7 at.% ≤ x ≤ 11 at.%) thin films upon the increase of Tb content

TbxFe73Ga27-x (7 at.% < x < 11 at.%) ternary alloys have been obtained by cosputtering from Tb33Fe67 and Fe72Ga28 targets. In contrast with other TbeFeeGa compounds that consist of just one structural phase, the diffraction pattern of the Tb7Fe73Ga20 shows the presence of two different phases related to binary Tb Fe and FeGa alloys. This microstructure evolves as the Tb content is increased, and for a Tb of 11 at.% X-ray diffractometry only evidences the presence of a phase close to the TbFe2. Although none of the studied samples show perpendicular magnetic anisotropy, there is a significant component of the magnetization perpendicular to the sample plane. The increase of the Tb content on the compounds from 7 at.% to 11 at.% enhances this component most probably due to the shift of the microstructure towards one similar to the TbFe2.