Lattice mismatch-induced evolution of microstructural properties in FePt films

摘要

FePt (10, 20, 40, and 60 nm) films were fabricated on four different single crystal substrates [MgO (001), KTaO_3 (001), SrTiO_3 (001), and LaAlO_33 (001)], and the effects of lattice mismatch on the microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt films were systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that the different lattice mismatch between the substrates and FePt films resulted in the different crystallographic texture and microstructure of the FePt films. Under the tensile strain between the FePt and substrates (MgO, KTaO_3, SrTiO_3), the FePt films preferred to form L1_0 FePt (001) texture. The perpendicular anisotropy of the FePt films grown on MgO was larger than that grown on KTaO_3 and SrTiO_3. For the FePt films grown on the LaAlO_3 substrate, both FePt (110) and (001) orientations were found, which indicated the presence of tensile and compressive strain, respectively. With the reduction of the lattice mismatch between the FePt (10 nm) and substrate from 5.8% (MgO) to 2.4% (KTaO_3), and 0.1% (SrTiO_3), the microstructure of the FePt films changed gradually from granular to continuous films (SEM and TEM results). The microstructure of the 10 nm FePt film grown on LaAlO_3 substrate showed granular structure.