Probing the A1 to L1{sub 0} transformation in FeCuPt using the first order reversal curve method

Journal Article · Fri Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2014 · APL Materials

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4894197· OSTI ID:22303559

Gilbert, Dustin A.; Liu, Kai ^[1]; Liao, Jung-Wei; Wang, Liang-Wei; Lai, Chih-Huang ^[2]; Lau, June W. ^[3]; Klemmer, Timothy J.; Thiele, Jan-Ulrich ^[4]

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1. Physics Department, University of California, Davis, California 95616 (United States)
2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (China)
3. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 (United States)
4. Seagate Technology, Fremont, California 94538 (United States)

The A1-L1{sub 0} phase transformation has been investigated in (001) FeCuPt thin films prepared by atomic-scale multilayer sputtering and rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Traditional x-ray diffraction is not always applicable in generating a true order parameter, due to non-ideal crystallinity of the A1 phase. Using the first-order reversal curve (FORC) method, the A1 and L1{sub 0} phases are deconvoluted into two distinct features in the FORC distribution, whose relative intensities change with the RTA temperature. The L1{sub 0} ordering takes place via a nucleation-and-growth mode. A magnetization-based phase fraction is extracted, providing a quantitative measure of the L1{sub 0} phase homogeneity.

• OSTI ID: 22303559
• Journal Information: APL Materials, Journal Name: APL Materials Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 2; ISSN AMPADS; ISSN 2166-532X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
ANNEALING
MAGNETIZATION
NUCLEATION
ORDER PARAMETERS
PHASE TRANSFORMATIONS
SPUTTERING
THIN FILMS
X-RAY DIFFRACTION