Optical properties of oxidized terfenol-d thin films obtained by pulsed laser deposition

This paper concentrates on the characterization of Terfenol-D thin films through spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. All the films were obtained by pulsed laser deposition, and their topographical, morphological, chemical composition and resistivity analysis was performed through atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray measurements. By ellipsometry we have computed an optical model to fit the experimental data and obtain the optical constant's dispersion. The obvious results were that the films have been oxidized, which influences the refractive index and extinction coefficient behavior to go from that of a metallic alloy to a material indicating a mixture of oxides. The results have not come as a surprise, since in the literature, most experimental trials of depositing and analyzing Terfenol-D films have encountered the same oxidation problem.