Thermally-induced phase transitions in Pt/Tb/Fe trilayers

•Evolution of structural phase transitions in Pt/Tb/Fe trilayers upon annealing.•Final product is characterized by coexistence of hard magnetic L10-FePt and TbO2 phases.•Filling of grain boundaries with Tb/Tb-O phases induces coercivity enhancement. Structural phase formation induced by thermally-activated diffusion processes and intermixing of layered structures is a promising reaction pathway for the synthesis of unexpected (metastable) thin film materials. Furthermore, the sequence of structural phase transitions during annealing can substantially differ from those predicted by corresponding bulk phase diagrams due to the underlying grain boundary diffusion mechanisms as well as surface and interface effects. In this study, phase transitions in Pt/Tb/Fe trilayers occurring during post-annealing up to 620°C were investigated by various techniques including x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, secondary neutral mass spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy depth profiling, and magnetic properties measurements. At an annealing temperature of 215°C pronounced Pt and Tb diffusion intermixing is observed leading to the formation of the binary Pt2Tb phase. Further annealing up to 280 °C is accompanied by the appearance of the chemically disordered A1-FePt phase and significant Tb segregation to the outer surface forming an oxide layer. The chemically ordered L10-FePt phase starts to form in parallel to the disappearance of the Pt2Tb phase at 450°C. The final phase product at 620°C is characterized by the coexistence of two remaining phases, L10-FePt and TbO2. Structural phase transitions have a significant impact on the films magnetic properties – heat treatment leads to an enhancement of the coercive field. This fact is associated with the formation of the hard magnetic L10-FePt phase, which might be accompanied by grain isolation induced by partially Tb/Tb-O grain boundary filling.