Aligned and exchange-coupled FePt-based films

Two-phase nanostructures of hard L1(0)-ordered FePt and soft iron-rich fcc Fe-Pt are investigated experimentally and by model calculations. The Fe-Pt thin films were produced by epitaxial co-sputtering onto MgO and have a thickness of about 10 nm. They form two-phase dots that cover a large fraction of the surface but are separated from each other. X-ray diffraction and TEM show that the c-axis of the phase FePt is aligned in the direction normal to the film plane. The experimental and theoretical hysteresis loops indicate archetypical exchange coupling, and excellent magnetic properties are obtained. The largest values of coercivity, saturation magnetization, and nominal energy product obtained in the samples studied are 51 kOe, 1287 emu/cc, and 54 MGOe, respectively. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3656038]