Control of magnetic anisotropy field of (001) oriented L10-Fe(PdxPt1−x) films for MRAM application

Abstract

L10-Fe(Pd,Pt) films which are expected to have tunable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and lower ordering temperature compared with the L10-FePt films were fabricated and investigated in order to realize high-performance Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) with spin-transfer magnetization switching method and Magnetic Domain-Wall Racetrack Memory with current-driven domain wall motion. The main results are as follows: (1) The long-range chemical order degree S for the L10-Fe(Pd,Pt) films with the optimized thermal treatment temperature fabricated on MgO(001) substrate was about 0.8. (2) The perpendicular coercive force and magnetic anisotropy field for the L10-FePd film with the thermal treatment temperature of 600 °C were 300 Oe and 14 kOe respectively, whereas the L10-FePt film with the thermal treatment temperature of 800 °C were 2000 Oe and 102 kOe, respectively. (3) The optimized ordering temperature to obtain L10 single phase decreased continuously from 800°C to 600°C with the increasing Pd content for the Fe(Pd,Pt) films. (4) The perpendicular magnetic anisotropy field for the L10-Fe(Pd,Pt) films decreased continuously from 102 kOe to 14 kOe with the increasing Pd content. It is found that the Fe(Pd,Pd) films which have tunable perpendicular magnetic anisotropy field is one of suitable ferromagnetic material for high-performance magnetic recording devices.