Microstructural studies of L10-FePt thin films with high coercivity fabricated at low deposition temperatures

Abstract

The infuence of ultrathin nonmagnetic Ag layers on the formation of the ordered fct-L10 PtFe phase and their magnetic properties have been studied, when the thin FePt films were deposited on MgO (100) single-crystal substrates. Epitaxial growth of the FePt (001) films was observed at the deposition temperature of 400 °C. With ultrathin Ag intermediate layers deposited between FePt layers, the surface morphology changed from the interconnection network to isolated-island character. The perpendicular coercivity of the FePt film dramatically increased from 6.5 to 32.5 kOe. The formation mechanism of the isolated island morphology of FePt thin films is discussed. © THE MINERALS, METALS & MATERIALS SOCIETY and ASM INTERNATIONAL 2007.