Abstract
We demonstrate a thin and continuous L1 0 FePt film with a well-aligned (001) texture directly grown on Si || SiO 2 substrates by introducing an FeO x cap layer. The agglomeration of capped FePt films is greatly suppressed by inhibiting the surface diffusion. This, in turn, yields a continuous and smooth film, which significantly promotes the (001) out-of-plane orientation and perpendicular anisotropy. The reduction of Fe oxides occurs during annealing, which not only promotes interdiffusion of Fe and Pt for L1 0 ordering but also removes the cap layer simultaneously. Therefore, additional etching for the cap layer is not required for further fabricating bit patterned media. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.