Silicide formation and particle size growth in high-temperature-annealed, self-assembled FePt nanoparticles

The formation of silicide and particle size growth in high temperatre-annealed, self-assembled high-anisotropy FePt nanoparticles were analyzed. The nanoparticle assemblies were produced using a polymer-mediated self-assembly method. It was suggested that the reduction in magnetization is due to silicide formation as a result of a chemical reaction with the native oxide or Si substrate. The results show that for the assemblies annealed for 2 and 20 min, the median particle sizes are 300 and 550 Å, respectively.