Thickness dependence of (001) texture evolution in FePt thin films on an amorphous substrate

Abstract

Thickness dependency of (001) texture evolution in Fe54Pt46 thin films on an amorphous substrate was investigated using in-house X-ray diffraction or a synchrotron source. The (001) texture was well developed in Fe54Pt46 thin films, especially when its thickness was equivalent to the grain height. The findings show that strain relaxation anisotropy along the film axis, which leads to a (001) crystal (a crystal with a (001) plane parallel to the film plane) that is more stable than others, was large for a low thickness film. In addition, abnormal grain growth was used to explain the abrupt development of a (001) texture. The advantage of multilayered as-deposited structure is also discussed. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.