The magnetic properties and ordering behavior of Nb-doped FePt alloy films prepared by dc-magnetron sputtering were investigated. It was found that Nb addition retarded the ordering reaction from the disordered face-centered-cubic (fcc) Al phase to the ordered face-centered-tetragonal (fct) L10 phase. The tetragonality (c/a ratio) of the ordered fct L10 phase increased with the Nb concentration. Nb addition hampered c-axis contraction during ordering, probably because the larger Nb atoms occupy Pt sites. Consequently, the coercivity and magnetocrystalline anisotropic energy of Nb-doped FePt alloy films are lower than those of un-doped FePt film under equivalent annealing conditions.
