Influence of the Pt thickness on the structural and magnetic properties of epitaxial Fe/Pt bilayers

•The thickness of the Pt deposited on Fe proved crucial for the residual elastic strain.•Structural features of the non-magnetic layer affect Fe/Pt magnetic properties.•The reduced bicrystalline symmetry induces anisotropy and enhances coercivity.•Interface induced magnetic phenomena arise from intermetallic electron interactions. Interface induced phenomena in layered magnetic/non-magnetic structures have led to big discoveries, such as giant magnetoresistance, which has defined the field of spintronics. Interfaces are capable of inducing magnetism even in non-magnetic layers, like platinum. Here, we investigated the static magnetic properties of modified interfaces in Fe/Pt bilayers, deposited on MgO substrates via an electron beam evaporation technique. We show the impact of the thickness reduction of the non-magnetic material, from 18 nm down to 1 nm, on the structural and magnetic properties of the epitaxial Fe/Pt bilayers. Below a platinum thickness of 6 nm a significant increase of the magnetic hardness and a uniaxial anisotropy is observed. We correlate the magnetization reversal with the increase of the elastic strain of the Pt layer, in conjunction with the interfacial Fe/Pt roughness and Pt proximity effect, which is enlarged as the Pt thickness is decreased.