Formation of (001) Texture in Fe-O Underlayered $L1_{0}$ FePt Films

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FePt thin films were deposited on an Fe-O underlayer prepared by RF bias sputtering in an oxygen atmosphere for different oxidization time. Very good (001) texture and perfect perpendicular magnetization were obtained in the FePt film on 1-nm-thick Fe-O underlayer after high temperature annealing. The (001) texture evolution was accompanied by fcc-to-fct phase transformation, and both were driven by a recrystallization process. The Fe-O underlayer not only acts as a template, but also provides a stress to help the atom migration during annealing.