Ion induced modification in structural and magnetic properties of Pt/Cr/Co multilayers

This paper reports on the change in the magnetic and the structural properties of Pt/Cr/Co multilayers due to 1 MeV N+-ion irradiation at room temperature. We observe irradiation induced formation of the CoCrPt ternary alloy phase at a fluence of 1×1016 ions cm−2. Phase formation is accompanied by an enhancement in the coercivity. The enhancement in the coercivity is attributed to inhomogeneous alloying and possible mixing-induced strain. These findings are explained in the light of ion beam induced recoil mixing and ionization events.