Direct observation of magnetic microstructures is vital for advancing spintronics and other technologies. Here we report a method for imaging surface domain structures on bulk samples by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Complex magnetic domains, referred to as the maze state in CoPt/FePt alloys, were observed at a spatial resolution of less than 100 nm by using an in-lens annular detector. T...

Controlling magnetic properties on the nanometer-scale is essential for basic research in micro-magnetism and spin-dependent transport, as well as for various applications such as magnetic recording, imaging and sensing. This has been accomplished to a very high degree by means of layered heterostructures in the vertical dimension. Here we present a complementary approach that allows for a cont...

Thin 001 textured FePt and CoPt polycrystalline films (5 nm) were deposited with an MgO polycrystalline underlayer on an oxidized Si substrate followed by a Rapid Thermal Annealing (RTA) process. Structural analysis indicated the samples to be fully ordered after 10 minutes (min) of RTA at 700 C. The magnetic hysteresis exhibited strong perpendicular anisotropy and a coercivity ( ) between 6 an...

We have studied the electronic and magnetic properties of Fe-Pt, CoPt and Ni-Pt alloy systems in ordered and disordered phases. The influence of various exchange-correlation functionals on values of equilibrium lattice parameters and magnetic moments in ordered Fe-Pt, Co-Pt and Ni-Pt alloys have been studied using linearized muffin-tin orbital method. The electronic structure calculations for t...