Laser irradiation effects in FeRh thin film

Abstract

The effect of laser irradiation in the energy range from 20 mW to 200 mW was investigated in 109 nm thick Fe51Rh49 film deposited on an MgO (100) substrate. The initial, A1 structure with fully paramagnetic magnetic ordering was achieved after irradiating the samples with 120 keV Ne+ ions with a fluence of 1 × 1016 ion cm−2, as it was confirmed by conversion-electron Mössbauer spectroscopy. At higher powers physical damage of the layer was observed, while in the lowest power case, magnetic force microscopy revealed a well-defined magnetic structure reflecting the laser irradiation pattern. The presented results have the potential to be employed for laser ablation or allows the fabrication of arbitrary ferromagnetic pattern within a homogeneous paramagnetic FeRh thin films.