Fabrication of isolated FePd nanoparticles by sputtering and heat treatment

In this paper, we describe the fabrication of two-dimensionally dispersed nano articles by sputtering and annealing. FePd has been chosen as the target material. As the first step of this process, ultrathin films were sputter-deposited on Si substrates. Subsequently, they were annealed at 450-800degreesC. As the result, numerous nanoparticles with a diameter of about 5 nm were formed on the substrate surface, when the thickness of the as-deposited film was approximately less than 3 nm.