The effect of Ag-additive on structural and magnetic properties of Fe-Pt alloy thin films

Two series of Fe54Pt46 and (Fe54Pt46)(96)Ag-4 alloy films were deposited by RF-co-sputtering onto oxidized silicon substrates at room temperature. The structural and the magnetic properties of the samples have been investigated in dependence on heat treatment conditions and film thickness. It is worth noting that Ag-additive is demonstrated to be effective to promote the crystallographic ordering and the developing of the (001) texture in the annealed samples. By controlling the film thickness and the annealing conditions, (001) oriented Fe-Pt-Ag films can be obtained. The abnormal behavior in the torque curves measured on the annealed samples at moderately high magnetic field can be quite well understood considering the mechanism of the existing exchange spring interaction. It seems reasonable to conclude that Ag-additive plays an important role in the grain growth process, which results in the developing of perpendicular anisotropy in the Fe-Pt alloy thin films. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.