Novel methods for the fabrication of ferromagnetic nickel and nickel boride thin films
Metal‐rich nickel boride thin films fabricated from boron‐containing precursor compounds by a cluster deposition process are shown to be ferromagnetic. The metal‐rich films fabricated by this approach exhibit hysteresis curves similar to those obtained for pure nickel foils. These films are a mixture of pure nickel and the Ni3B nickel boride phases. It is postulated that the hysteresis curves with smaller remnant magnetizations obtained from these films are a consequence of Ni3B inclusions within the films. Other novel organometallic source compounds for nickel chemical‐vapor deposition are briefly reviewed.
Selective area laser-induced deposition of rare earth hexaborides from solution
Abstract We have developed a novel technique for the selective area deposition of rare earth hexaborides: laser-induced solution deposition (LISD). This technique is both simple and efficient and combines many advantages of both chemical vapor deposition and electrolyses deposition. We show that the deposition of polycrystalline thin films of rare earth hexaborides and sub-borides such as GdB 6 , GdB 4 , and GdB 2 is possible through the light initiated chemical reaction of nido -decaborane (B 10 H 14 ) and gadolinium chloride in solution. These films grow with a strong texture axis and a morphology that is dependent both on the choice of solvents and wavelengths used in LISD.
Application of the extended Ziman theory to amorphous nickel-phosphorus alloys
The extended Ziman model, which has proven useful in the description of electrical transport in liquid transition metals, is applied to solid amorphous nickel-phosphorus alloys. Muffin-tin potentials, constructed from atomic wave functions, were used to compute the required scattering phase shifts. Partial structure factors were computed in the Percus-Yevick hard-sphere model. Computed resistivities are in accord with the experimentally observed values over the realizable range of compositions. The composition at which the temperature coefficient of resistivity changes sign is correctly given. Measurements on related alloys indicate that the NiP thermopower is correctly predicted as well. The results suggest that electron transport in metallic glasses can be described in terms of liquid-metal theory.