Magnetic and microstructural properties of thin film Fe-Sb obtained by thermal evaporation of nanostructured milled powder.

Nanostructured Fe90Sb10 (wt.%) alloys were synthesized via mechanical alloying of pure iron and antimony powders in a high-energy planetary ball mill. The milling duration was carefully optimized to achieve a nanostructured mixture and to form a supersaturated solid solution of (bcc) α-Fe(Sb). Subsequently, the powder mixture was utilized to deposit (bcc) α-Fe(Sb) onto a glass substrate. The fabrication of our films was carried out through thermal evaporation (physical vapor deposition) under a vacuum of 2.1 × 10−5 mbar, utilizing an electrically heated tungsten boat. The supersaturated solid solution (bcc) α-Fe(Sb) powder obtained via mechanical alloying was employed as the source material for deposition. In this study, we investigate the influence of milling time and film thickness on the structural, microstructural, and magnetic properties of Fe90Sb10 (wt.%) powders and thin films. Structural, microstructural, and magnetic analyses of the milled powders and thin films were conducted using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]