Modification of structural and magnetic properties in Fe/Pt (111)-oriented multilayers with ion beam irradiation

This paper reports on structural and magnetic properties changes that occur after irradiation of Fe/Pt (1 1 1) multilayers with Ne+ ions. Multilayer samples of Al2O3 (0 0 0 1)/Pt 100 Å/(Fe X Å/Pt X Å)n/Pt 100 Å structure with different individual layer thickness X (5 or 10 Å) and different number of bilayers n (5, 10 or 15) were irradiated with Ne+ ions of 10 to 25 keV energy and 1 × 1014 ÷ 1 × 1016 ions cm−2 dose range at room temperature. Irradiation parameters were estimated a priori using Tridyn software. As-deposited samples revealed presence of sharp interfaces. Structural properties changes were investigated using symmetrical and asymmetrical X-ray diffraction methods and magnetic properties changes were examined using vibrating sample magnetometer. Ion beam induced mixing of multilayers resulted in formation of disordered face centered cubic (fcc) FePt alloys of two different compositions (quasi-50:50 in the initial multilayer volume and Pt-rich in initial cover-layer volume). Non-regular changes in magnetic properties after ion irradiation were observed whilst retaining in-plane orientation of magnetization easy axis.