A new edition of the highly readable textbook applying the fundamentals of crystallography, symmetry and diffraction to a range of materials.

Granular CoPt/C and FePt/C films, consisting of nanoparticles of the highly anisotropic fct CoPt (FePt) phase embedded in a carbon matrix, were made by co-sputtering from pure Co50Pt50 (Fe50Pt50) and C targets using a tandem deposition mode. The as-made films showed a disordered face centered cubic (fcc) structure, which was magnetically soft and had low coercivity. Magnetic hardening occurred after heat treatment at elevated temperatures, which led to increase in coercivity with values up to 15 kOe. The hardening originated from the transformation of the fcc phase to a highly anisotropic face centered tetragonal phase (fct) with anisotropy K> 10(exp 7) erg/cu cm. Transmission electron microscopy studies showed FePt particles embedded in C matrix with a particle size increasing from below 5 nm in the as-made state to 15 nm in the fully annealed state. These results are very promising and make these materials potential candidates for high-density magnetic recording.

The microstructure of sputtered, 10 nm thin films of equiatomic binary alloys of CoPt and FePt were characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and related techniques, and the magnetic properties of these films were studied using a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. These films have certain properties important to their possible application as high density magnetic storage media, however the relationship of microstructure and magnetic properties was not well known. Grain growth kinetics were examined using manual and digital analysis of bright field TEM images, and were seen to take two stages during annealing in these films. A rapid growth stage concurrent with the formation of a (111) fiber texture was observed to occur within the first 5-10 minutes of annealing, which was followed by a much slower growth stage after the fiber texturing was well advanced. Differences in grain growth rate and ultimate grain size were also observed to depend on heating rate. The transformation from an atomically disordered structure to the L1$\sb0$ ordered structure also occurred during annealing and was characterized using digital analysis of dark field TEM images. The transformation was observed to follow first-order, nucleation and growth kinetics and the volume fraction transformed was quantified for numerous intermediate steps between disordered and fully ordered. The ordered volume fraction was then compared to the magnetic coercivity data obtained from the SQUID magnetometer. In contrast to the relationship most commonly described in the literature, that the highest coercivity corresponds to a two phase ordered/disordered mixture, the maximum value for coercivity in our samples was found to correspond to the fully ordered state. Furthermore, measurements of the ordered volume fraction at intermediate steps between disordered and fully ordered showed that the coercivity was closely related to the ordered volume fraction. An increasing density of magnetic domain wall pinning sites concurrent with the increasing ordered fraction was proposed as a mechanism for the high coercivity in these films.

In recent years, nanocomposites have captured and held the attention and imagination of scientists and engineers alike. Based on the simple premise that by using a wide range of building blocks with dimensions in the nanosize region, it is possible to design and create new materials with unprecedented flexibility and improvements in their physical properties. This book contains the essence of this emerging technology, the underlying science and motivation behind the design of these structures and the future, particularly from the perspective of applications. It is intended to be a reference handbook for future scientists and hence carries the basic science and the fundamental engineering principles that lead to the fabrication and property evaluation of nanocomposite materials in different areas of materials science and technology.