L10-ordered FePtCu ternary alloy thin films with (001) preferential orientation were fabricated from Cu/Pt/Fe trilayers to maintain their Curie temperature at a level suitable for the operating temperature of recording media in a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) system. It was confirmed that the addition of Cu to FePt films reduces the Curie temperature of the FePtCu films to a level lower than that of FePt films. The Cu content ratio of FePtCu films was controlled by adjusting the Cu layer thickness of the Cu/Pt/Fe trilayers. With increasing Cu thickness, their Curie temperature dropped below 300 degrees C and their perpendicular coercivity decreased to a sufficiently low level of about 1 kOe.

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