Grain refining and decoupling in FePt/SiO2 nanogranular films for magnetic recording

[[abstract]]FePt/SiO2 nanogranular thin films have been prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy system on MgO (001) substrates with the method of insertion dual SiO2 layers into Fe/Pt multilayer films. We report the relationships between the inserting thickness of SiO2 layers and the microstructural and magnetic properties of FePt thin films. It indicated the nanogranular FePt thin films were successfully formed by inserting amorphous SiO2 layers into the Fe/Pt films. The reduction of grain/domain size and isolation of FePt particles can be achieved by such insertion and maintain (001) texture. The average grain size of FePt films with 5-nin SiO2 insert layers is estimated to be around 8 nm, while domain rotation is enhanced depicting a decoupling of intergrain interaction. The isolated grains are less magnetically coupled in the rotation mode and the reversal of magnetization is more independent.[[fileno]]2020336010082[[department]]材料