FePt films on self-assembled SiO2 particle arrays

Chemically L1(0) ordered (001) textured FePt thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be grown on amorphous planar SiO(2) substrate with an underlayer stack of [Pt (3 nm)/Cr (50 nm)] adopting a [002] orientation when deposited at 350 degrees C. This knowledge of optimum layer stack was transferred to self-assembled SiO(2) particle arrays. While 330 nm SiO(2) particle arrays reveal perpendicular magnetic anisotropy with a remanence of almost one and a coercivity of 370 mT, on 160 nm particles, the FePt caps show a (111) texturing, leading to the random orientation of the easy axis of the magnetization. (c) 2008 American Institute of Physics.