Influence of external magnetic fields on the growth of alloy nanoclusters

Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations are performed to study the influence of external magnetic fields on the growth of magnetic fcc binary alloy nanoclusters with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. A model of the underlying kinetics is designed to describe the essential structural and magnetic properties of CoPt3-type clusters grown on a weakly interacting substrate through molecular beam epitaxy. The results suggest that perpendicular magnetic anisotropy can be enhanced when the field is applied during growth. For equilibrium bulk systems a significant shift of the onset temperature for L 12 ordering is found, in agreement with predictions from Landau theory. Stronger field-induced effects can be expected for magnetic fcc alloys undergoing L 10 ordering.