A study on the structural and magnetic properties of 5-nm-thick Co–Pt alloy films grown on thermally oxidized SiO2/Si(100) substrates as well as on self-assemblies of spherical SiO2 particles with sizes down to 10 nm is presented. An out-of-plane easy axis of magnetization was stabilized at deposition temperatures as low as 250 °C in a broad composition range between 40 and 70 at. % of Pt. Owing to the low deposition temperatures, no chemical long-range order is found. Thus, the strong out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy is expected to be caused by anisotropic short-range order effects. The magnetic behavior of CoPt alloys with an equiatomic composition grown on arrays of SiO2 particles was found to be similar to those on planar substrates. Structural investigations using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy revealed that a continuous CoPt layer has been formed, covering the particle tops and …