CoPt/Ag nanocomposites with (001) texture

CoPt/Ag nanocomposites with the tetragonal (L1(0)) structure have been prep ared by magnetron sputtering. The dependence of texture on film thickness, bilayer thickness, CoPt volume fraction, and annealing conditions is invest igated. Films with a thickness below 15 nm consist of islands with (001) te xture while as the thickness increases, the islands coalesce into a continu ous film and the (111) texture appears. Microstrain is minimized in the ran ge of film thickness where the (001) texturing is optimum indicating that s train energy provides the driving force of (001) growth texturing. The (001 ) texture improves with CoPt volume fraction for all annealing times but di sappears above 95 vol % indicating that the existence of the Ag plays an im portant role in the development of the (001) texture. (C) 2001 American Ins titute of Physics.