Effect of Au spacer layer on L1₀ phase ordering temperature of CoPt thin films

Authors

T. Yokota, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
L. Gao, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Sy_Hwang Liou, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
M.L. Yan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
David J. Sellmyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

June 2004

Comments

Published by American Institute of Physics. J. Appl. Phys., 95, 7270 (2004). ©2004 American Institute of Physics. Permission to use. http://jap.aip.org/jap/.

Abstract

We have studied the effect of Au on the ordering temperature of CoPt films. The coercivity of the CoPt multilayer with 2 nm Au inserted is around 5 kOe after annealing at 400 °C. This ordering temperature is about 200 °C lower than that of a pure CoPt film. Crystallographical analysis using x-ray diffraction has also revealed that the lattice constant is drastically changed around the same temperature, which is related to the formation of the L1₀-ordered structure. Thus, the Au plays an important role in reducing the ordering temperature.