Abstract
As a promising alternative to the mainstream CoFeB/MgO system with interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA), L1(0)-FePd and its synthetic antiferromagnet (SAF) structure with large crystalline PMA can support spintronic devices with sufficient thermal stability at sub-5 nm sizes. However, the compatibility requirement of preparing L1(0)-FePd thin films on Si/SiO(2) wafers is still unmet. In this paper, we prepare high-quality L1(0)-FePd and its SAF on Si/SiO(2) wafers by coating the amorphous SiO(2) surface with an MgO(001) seed layer. The prepared L1(0)-FePd single layer and SAF stack are highly (001)-textured, showing strong PMA, low damping, and sizeable interlayer exchange coupling, respectively. Systematic characterizations, including advanced X-ray diffraction measurement and atomic resolution-scanning transmission electron microscopy, are conducted to explain the outstanding performance of L1(0)-FePd layers. A fully-epitaxial growth that starts from MgO seed layer, induces the (001) texture of L1(0)-FePd, and extends through the SAF spacer is observed. This study makes the vision of scalable spintronics more practical.