Influence of energetic ions on the L10 ordering of FePt films fabricated by magnetron sputtering

Due to the high uniaxial anisotropy L10-ordered FePt is currently the most favored candidate for future high density storage applications. With respect to a feasible fabrication technology, it is necessary (i) to produce such films on amorphous substrates, and (ii) to enable a low processing temperature (T<400°C). FePt films deposited at RT only exhibit the face-centered cubic A1-phase. Thus, either deposition or a post-deposition heat treatment at temperatures above typically 500°C is required, in order to achieve the L10-phase. We report on the L10 ordering of stoichiometric FePt thin films fabricated on SiO2/Si substrates by magnetron sputtering at various temperatures (RT - 400°C). Using a low deposition rate of about 0.6 Å/s and an Ar pressure of 0.3 Pa the ion/atom-ratio during deposition is » 1 where the ions exhibit energies of about 20 eV. In addition, FePt films have been irradiated subsequently with He ions of 50 keV and fluencies between 1x1015 and 3x1016 cm−2 for comparison. The kinetics of A1-L10 transition and ordering have been investigated with in-situ X-ray diffraction at the Synchrotron-beamline ROBL at ESRF. L10 ordered FePt films with an ordering parameter S=0.8 have been achieved already for an overall process temperature below 350°C. The results are discussed in terms of ion-assisted activation and segregation which supports the atomic relocation during L10 ordering.