The effect of oxygen and water vapor on the electric properties of (Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$)$_{x}$(LiNbO$_{3}$)$_{100-x}$ nanogranular composites

The effect of oxygen and water vapor in a sputtering chamber during the deposition of thin-film (Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$)$_{x}$(LiNbO$_{3}$)$_{100-x}$ nanocomposites on the electrical properties of the heterogenous system is investigated. It is found that the resistivity of (Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$)$_{x}$(LiNbO$_{3}$)$_{100-x}$ nanocomposites increases significantly with the partial pressure of reactive gases (oxygen and water vapor). A noticeable shift of the percolation threshold towards higher values of the metal phase volume concentration, which is observed in the plane of the film and in the perpendicular direction during the synthesis of composites with the addition of reactive gases, is attributed to the increase in the volume concentration of the dielectric phase. It is found that the percolation threshold for the measurements in the geometry perpendicular to the plane of the film is characterized by a much lower concentration of the Co$_{40}$Fe$_{40}$B$_{20}$ alloy atoms than that for the measurements in the plane of the film, which is associated with an elongated shape of granules in the film growth direction and the effects of Coulomb blockade suppression by a high transverse electric field.