Fe50Pt50–xPdx alloy thin films with L10 structure epitaxially grown on MgO(001) substrates

Fe50 Pt50–x Pdx (at. %, x = 0, 12.5, 25, 37.5, 50) alloy epitaxial films are prepared on MgO(001) substrates at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 600 °C by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The effects of substrate temperature and Pd/Pt composition on the order degree, c -axis distribution, and magnetic property are investigated. With increasing the substrate temperature, L 10 ordering is enhanced for all the compositions. The order degree of film deposited at 600 °C decreases from 0.37 to 0.23 as the x value increases from 0 to 12.5 at. %. With further increasing the x value, the order degree increases up to 0.69. The Fe50 Pt50–x Pdx films with x ≥ 25 consist of only an L 10 (001) single-crystal with the c -axis perpendicular to the substrate surface, whereas the films with x 10 (100) variant with the c -axis lying in the film plane in addition to L 10 (001) variant. The c -axis distribution is influenced by the Pd/Pt composition. The magnetic anisotropy is reflecting the c -axis distribution and the order degree.