Oxidation of Amorphous Tb-Fe

Rare-earth/transition-metal alloy thin films intended for use in magneto-optic memory applications are susceptible to degradation by a variety of mechanisms, among which corrosion by oxidation is prominent. We have studied air oxidation of unprotected Tb26Fe74 thin films using magnetic (vibrating-sample, torque, and Kerr magnetometry) and analytic (Auger electron spectroscopy with depth profiling) measurements in order to characterize and understand the process.