L10 FePt nanoparticles with distinct perpendicular magnetic anisotropy prepared on Au buffer layers by a micellar method

FePt nanoparticles were self-assembled on a MgO (001) substrate by a micellar method. We introduced an Au buffer layer to control the lattice orientation and the magnetic alignment of FePt nanoparticles. A distinct c-axis preferred orientation of the FePt nanoparticles was achieved during the thermal annealing treatment. The driving force of lattice reorientation is considered to be the result of the stress caused by the lattice misfit between Au and FePt. The degree of c-axis orientation is significantly enhanced with increasing Au thickness, which is attributed to the decrease of the in-plane lattice and the improved crystal quality of the Au layer. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was observed for the FePt samples with the Au buffer layer. The out-of-plane coercivity and remanence ratio are 3.1 kOe and 0.8, respectively, which far exceed the in-plane values. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3592972]