Improvement of high frequency giant magnetoimpedance effect in CoFeSiB amorphous ribbon with vanishing magnetostriction by electrodeposited Co coating surface layer

The influence of a ferromagnetic cover layer on giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) effect in nearly-zero magnetostrictive Co66.5Fe3.5Si12.0B18.0 amorphous ribbon after being surface coated by an electrodeposited Co layer of 10 μm in thickness, has been studied in the high frequency range between 10 MHz and 1.5 GHz. Longitudinal MOKE measurements performed on both kind of samples reveal the influence of exchange coupling interaction at the interface between the magnetic amorphous ribbon and electrodeposited Co coating layer, which is sensitive to the skin depth effect at high ac current frequency values. Comparison between GMI responses of the Co coated amorphous ribbon and the as-cast sample is provided. A more sharp and well defined double-peaks dependence of impedance on magnetic field, but with lower peaks intensity, is observed for the Co coated ribbon in the frequency range of 10–100 MHz, while the peaks intensity is higher than that observed in the as-cast ribbon at the high frequency value of 1 GHz due to the higher resistance of the Co electroplated layer than the core one. The influence of a dc bias drive current on the GMI response in both amorphous ribbons (as-cast and Co layered) is analyzed, which originates the removal of magnetic domain structure from both, the as-cast and Co-coated ribbons, giving rise more sensitive GMI effect. CoFeSiB amorphous ribbon with vanishing magnetostriction can achieve improved high frequency magnetic properties after being surface coated with electrodeposited ferromagnetic layers, as outstanding candidates for electromagnetic and magnetomechanical engineering applications.