Influence of the Finite-size Effects on the Curie Temperature of L10-FePt

We employ an atomistic model using a nearest-neighbor Heisenberg Hamiltonian exchange to study computationally the dependence of the Curie temperature of L10-FePt on finite-size and surface effects in Heat-assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) media. We demonstrate the existence of a size threshold at 3.5nm below which the impact of finite-size effects start to permeate into the center of the grains and contribute to the reduction of the Curie temperature. We find a correlation between the Curie temperature and the percentage of atomistic bonds lost on the surface as a function of grain size, which can be extended to apply to not only L10-FePt but also generic magnetic systems of any crystal structure. The investigation gives insight into finite-size effects which, because the inevitable grain size dispersion leads to an irreducible contribution to a dispersion of the Curie temperature, has been predicted to be a serious limitation of HAMR.
Comment: Main text: 8 pages, 7 figures; Supplemental: 2 pages, 2 figures. Manuscript submitted to Physical Review B (Regular Article)