Magnetic trapping induced low temperature phase transition from fcc to fct in pulsed laser deposition of FePt: Al2 O3 nanocomposite thin films

FePt: Al2 O3 nanocomposite thin films have been synthesized by magnetic trapping assisted pulsed laser deposition. The annealing temperature required for phase transition from low Ku fcc-FePt to high Ku fct-FePt is lowered down from about 600 °C for conventional pulsed laser deposition (PLD) to 300 °C for magnetic trapping assisted PLD. For the sample annealed at 300 °C with fct phase FePt nanoparticles, the average nanoparticle size is estimated to be about 8.7±2.1 nm, and the magnetic properties are improved which makes it a potentially good candidate for possible applications in high density data storage.