Nanoindentation Study of FePt Thin Films Deposited by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

Abstract

The microstructural and nanomechanical properties of Fe0.5Pt0.5 (FePt) thin films deposited on the glass substrates by radio frequency magnetron sputtering were investigated. Specifically, this study focused mainly on the effects of post-annealing on the evolvement of film microstructure and its correlation with the associated nano-mechanical properties. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated the FePt films were largely equiaxed with the average grain size being increased from similar to 27 nm to similar to 105 nm as the annealing temperature was raised from 400 degrees C to 700 degrees C. The associated film hardness and Young\'s modulus, as derived from the nano-indentation measurements, were decreased from 14.4 +/- 6.8 GPa and 194.2 +/- 9.1 GPa to 8.1 +/- 0.2 GPa and 153.8 +/- 6.5 GPa, respectively. The nano-mechanical properties of the present FePt films were well described by the Hall-Petch relation.