Metal finishing Q&As since 1989

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Films of Cobalt Iron Soft Magnetic Alloys

 

Can anyone suggest references or protocols for making 25 micron films of Cobalt Iron Soft Magnetic Alloys? I am interested in making films of high magnetic saturation alloys (2.4 T) like 2% Vanadium, 0.050 % Manganese, 49% Cobalt and 47.95% Iron. This alloy is readily available in bulk form, but I haven't found it used in plating.

Any help would be appreciated,

Jason Sutin
University of Illinois - Urbana, Illinois, USA

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Plating alloys is difficult. Because of the electrochemical activity series, noble metals plate out in preference to baser metals. It is not a chip shot to plate binary alloys like solder and brass. Ternary alloys are only rarely plated. I don't know of any quatenary (if that's the right word) alloys that are plated at all. I think you may need to figure out how to realize the properties you need from a binary alloy.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
 

Such complex alloys and various other compounds are typically coated using a couple of different vacuum metallizing methods. For more information, you may contact us.

Mandar Sunthankar
- Fort Collins, Colorado
 

It is possible to plate nanocrystalline alloys in a self-supporting film. We have had permalloy alloys successfully make for us on an experimental basis.

Joe Huth
- Butler, Pennsylvania, USA
 

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Mr. Jason,

Plating of alloys, such as Cobalt Iron Soft Magnetic Alloy films are possible and reproducible. Vanadium, Mn and cobalt nanostructured multilayer films in the percentage you have indicated are also possible just as is possible by molecular or sputtering in a high vacuum. I say this because plated ternary alloy and characterised its magnetic properties. Noble metals preferentially plating out can be controlled with good knowledge of metallurgy and electrochemical processing technique from aquous solution.

Bassey J. Udofot
Musgegon, Michigan