Hi Xiaoning,

Soft magnetic materials (NiFe) are electrodeposited for the best properties
(low coercivity / high permeability).
Iron is difficult to work with due to it's high internal stress and poor
corrosion resistance.
Hard magnetic materials (so many to choose from) can be sputtered or
electroplated.
What magnetic properties are you looking for? Thickness? Stress?

Regards,

David Roberts (Wafer Plating Specialist)
Prodigy Surface Tech (408) 469-3203 cell
807 Aldo Ave., Suite 103
Santa Clara, CA 95054
Phone (408) 492-9390
FAX (408) 492-9391

-----Original Message-----
From: Xiaoning Wang [mailto:wxn0000@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2008 11:07 AM
To: mems-talk@memsnet.org
Subject: [mems-talk] Magnetic material in MEMS

Hi all,

I'm a first year graduate student, just started my research topic.

I want to fabricate some structures using iron or iron oxide. But I
don't know what is the conventional method to grow a iron/iron oxide
film?

Is iron an incompatible material for MEMS? Why there's so little
literature about it?

If I can't use iron, what are some most commonly used magnetic
materials in MEMS? I know nickel is one of them.

Thank you so much for your help!

Best regards,
--
Yours, Travis (Wang, Xiaoning)
Graduate Student
Mechanical Engineering
Boston University