FIRST-ORDER PHASE TRANSITION AND MAGNETIC PROPERTIES OF EPITAXIAL FERH THIN FILMS

Abstract

Equiatomic FeRh alloy is known to exhibit first-order anti-ferromagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition when subjected to elevated temperatures of around 80 K beyond room temperature. Convenience of the transition temperature has attracted significant interests in areas such as thermo-magnetic switches for heat-assisted magnetic recording media and microelectromechanical systems. However, much work done on FeRh were mainly focused on bulk and non-texture thin films. Yet, for many of these practical applications, textured films are highly desired for integration purposes. In this work, effects of compositional variations on magnetic properties, crystallographic texture and first-order phase transition of (001)-textured FeRh thin films were studied. Subsequently, investigations on the effects of thickness reduction and transition temperature modification through Ir doping of several near equiatomic compositions were carried out. It is hoped the findings in this work would contribute to the further understanding and implementation of FeRh in future applications.