Microstructure and magnetization reversal of L10-FePt/[Co/Pt]N exchange coupled composite films

Two series of perpendicular exchange coupled composites (ECC) films are prepared by dc magnetron sputtering, FePt(5)/[Co(0.2)/Pt(0.3)](N) (ECC-I-N) and FePt(5)/[Co(0.2)/Pt(0.6)](N) (ECC-II-N), respectively. Structure analyses reveal the epitaxial growth on (001) oriented L1(0) FePt island-like grains of [Co/Pt](N) with (200) orientation. Coercivity H-C and remanent coercivity H-CR of both series samples decrease sharply compared to FePt, with the increase of the thickness of [Co/Pt](N). The angular dependence of H-CR shows excellent angular tolerance. VC 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3700865]