Structural and magnetic properties of PLD Co–Ag granular thin films

An investigation of static magnetic properties of CoxAg1−x (x=0.25, 0.40) granular films grown by the pulsed laser deposition technique is reported for samples heat treated at different temperatures. Different terms have been found to contribute to the observed temperature dependence of the magnetization: isolated clusters, superparamagnetic particles and larger blocked particles. The increase of the deposition temperature up to 250°C for x=0.40 leads to an increase of the fraction of superparamagnetic particles. An annealing treatment at 250°C for x=0.25 determines the growth of particles size.