Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and spin reorientation transition in L1 0 FePt films

Abstract

We investigated the thickness and composition dependence of perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) in L1 0 Fe 1-xPt x (x =0.4, 0.5, and 0.55) films. The FePt films with different thicknesses of 35 and 70 were grown at the substrate temperature T s = 300°C by molecular beam epitaxy coevaporation technique. A (001)-oriented epitaxial L1 0 FePt film was grown on the thin (001)-oriented fcc Pt layer, while a poorly crystallized FePt film was formed on the (111)-textured Pt layer. Our results showed that, at a fixed thickness of 70 , the PMA of FePt alloy films is enhanced as Pt content increases from 40 to 55. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.