Process Development of an Electroplated Permalloy Layer on Magnetic Magnesium for Gentelligent™ Products

Magnetic magnesium (Mg) is a new storage medium for gentelligent (TM) products and requires a reflective layer on its surface to enable a readout process. The readout process is executed by a magneto-optical method based on the KERR effect. A small rotation of a reflected light plane becomes visible applying a soft magnetic 5 mu m thick NiFe81/19 layer on top of the magnetic Mg storage medium which mirrors the magnetization states in the storage material. For the electrodeposition of a NiFe81/19 layer on the magnetic Mg surface, the combination of physical vapor deposition (PVD) and electroplating is applied. The thin NiFe81/19 layer deposited by PVD serves as a protection film on the sample surface to avoid etching during electroplating. The electroplating parameters are investigated and optimized to achieve a required concentration of Fe in the deposited layer.