Impact of annealing on perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and interfacial diffusion in ultrathin [CoFeB/Pd]×n multilayer film

The multilayers of Ta/Pd/[CoFeB (0.3 nm)/Pd]×5/Pd films were fabricated by ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering and subsequently annealed at temperatures (T_A) ranging from 100 °C to 400 °C. The magnetic measurements were performed with the applied field oriented parallel and perpendicular to the film plane to evaluate the out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy (PMA). A maximum effective PMA energy density (K_eff) of ≈7.82 × 10⁵ erg/cc and a small out-of-plane saturation magnetisation (M_s⊥) were achieved at the optimal T_A. The evolution of PMA is associated with interfacial atomic migration and oxidation processes, as confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Annealing at 300 °C initiates the formation of TaB and TaOB interfacial phases, whereas annealing at 400 °C promotes the enhanced growth of Ta₂O₅ and TaB, along with additional TaOB formation owing to increased oxygen migration. These thermally stable Ta–boride phases lead to pronounced modifications in the magnetic properties. Consequently, oxygen migration and interfacial reactions at elevated temperatures primarily alter the chemical states of the B 1s, Pd 3d, and Ta 4f orbitals, thereby influencing the PMA. The field-dependent electrical resistance (MR) study demonstrates that annealing at 100–400 °C optimises the anisotropic effect in the [CoFeB/Pd]×5-based multilayers. However, higher temperatures can trigger atomic intermixing, which degrades PMA strength and the resistance response. Moreover, the samples were further characterised by their structural, anomalous Hall effect (AHE) and magnetoresonance (MRO) properties. Overall, controlled T_A-driven oxygen diffusion and interfacial oxidation enable effective tuning of the PMA, MR, and MRO properties of ultrathin [CoFeB/Pd]×5 multilayers, highlighting their strong potential for spin–orbit torque (SOT), Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI), and magnetic skyrmion-based spintronic devices.