Structural study of CoCrPt films by anomalous x-ray scattering and extended x-ray absorption fine structure

The correlation of elemental chemistry with the particular long-range order in question cannot be obtained by common conventional characterization techniques. Here we report a study of determining the elemental concentrations of the textured Bragg diffraction peak and the averaged local atomic environment of sputtered CoCrPt films using anomalous x-ray scattering and extended x-ray absorption fine structures. The elemental compositions of the textured peak in these polycrystalline nanostructured films differed from the average global film composition. The higher Cr concentration in the textured peak indicated that a significant amount of Cr did not segregate towards the grain boundaries as a result of the low sputtering temperature and pressure used. The structural observations were consistent with the magnetic results. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.