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Description:

This study investigates microstructure formation in FePt-C nanogranular films deposited on MgO substrates during sputtering using the phase-field method, aiming to identify the key factors promoting the creation of an island-like microstructure, which is essential for the high recording density required in hard disk drives. Simulations reproduced the growth and coarsening of FePt grains, indicating that elastic-strain energy relaxation contributes significantly toward the formation of well-isolated FePt islands. The addition of C as a segregant shifts the position of the atoms supplied by sputtering closer to the top surface of the FePt grains, promoting their vertical growth. Furthermore, the film microstructure varies with the sputtering rate: lower rates result in coarser structures, whereas higher rates result in finer structures, albeit at the risk of grain coalescence. The results of this study suggest that the final microstructure is determined by the interplay of energetic and kinetic factors, specifically the interfacial and elastic strain energies and the diffusion and sputtering rates. These findings will enable the formulation of fabrication strategies for optimal high-performance FePt magnetic recording films.

Rights:

• Creative Commons BY Attribution 4.0 International
  

Keyword: Phase-field method, Simulation, L10 FePt film, Magnetic thin films, Heat-assisted magnetic recording

Date published: 2025-12-11

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Journal:

• Materials & Design (ISSN: 02641275) vol. 261 115314

Funding:

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology JPMXP1122715503 (MEXT Program: Data Creation and Utilization-Type Material Research and Development Project)
• Japan Science and Technology Agency, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology JPMJCR22C3 (サーマルマネージメント多値磁気記録システムの開発)

Manuscript type: Publisher's version (Version of record)

MDR DOI:

First published URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2025.115314

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Updated at: 2025-12-19 16:30:13 +0900

Published on MDR: 2025-12-19 14:11:39 +0900