FeAlN films and FeAlN/SiO/sub 2/ multilayers have been studied for head applications. The magnetic properties of FeAlN show similar dependences on N/sub 2//Ar flow rate ratio as those of FeN, but Al has been found to significantly affect their coercivity and magnetostriction, and also to prevent grain growth during annealing. FeAlN/SiO/sub 2/ multilayers also show similar dependences on the sputtering parameters as FeN/SiO/sub 2/. However, they demonstrate better magnetic properties and superior thermal stability when annealed at 300 degrees C. Multilayers with a saturation magnetization of 20 KGauss, a coercivity of 0.3 Oe, a saturation magnetostriction constant less than 2*10/sup -7/ and a permeability of 4000 have been achieved. >