AFM, XRD and HRTEM Studies οf Annealed FePd Thin Films

Ferromagnetic FePd L $1_{0}$ ordered alloys are highly expected as forthcoming high-density recording materials, because they reveal a large perpendicular magnetocrystalline anisotropy [1]. The value of the magnetic anisotropy of FePd alloy strongly depends on the alloy composition, degree of alloy order as well as on the crystallographic grain orientation. In particular, to obtain the perpendicular anisotropy, it is necessary to get the films with (001) texture. One of the successful methods, which allows one to obtain highly ordered alloy, is a subsequent deposition of Fe and Pd layers, followed by an annealing at high temperature. This paper presents the study of the FePd thin alloy film structure changing in the result of high temperature annealing. During the annealing in high vacuum, the measurements of electrical resistance were performed, indicating the regions of different structure evolution. Changes in the crystal structure and surface morphology induced by thermal treatment were investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy, as well as high resolution transmission electron microscopy and then compared with electrical resistivity measurement. The slow thermal annealing of the deposited layers leads to the formation of L $1_{0}$ ordered FePd alloy with preferred (111) grain orientation. After the annealing at the highest used temperature, the dewetting process was observed, resulting in a creation of well oriented, regular nanoparticles