(001)-oriented FePt/Ag composite films for perpendicular recording

FePt/Ag thin films were deposited by magnetron sputtering onto 7059 glass substrates, then were annealed at 550 °C for 30 min. Nanostructured FePt/Ag films were successfully obtained with the magnetic easy axis of L10 FePt perpendicular to the film plane. It was found that the development of (001) texture depended strongly on the thicknesses of FePt magnetic layer and Ag underlayer. The L10 ordered FePt(15 nm)/Ag(50 nm) with (001) orientation can be obtained. And the perpendicular coercivity of FePt(15 nm)/Ag(50 nm) film reached to 7.2×105 A/m, whereas the longitudinal one was only 3.2×104 A/m. The non-magnetic Ag underlayer can not only induce (001) orientation and ordering of FePt grains, but also reduce the intergrain interactions.