Partially oxidized cobalt films were deposited by the reactive evaporation method on an underlayer Au film and on a polymer film with a rough surface. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of these underlayers on the structure and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of the partially oxidized cobalt films. The gold film was sputter‐deposited by using an Au target. The acceleration voltage and sputtering period for Au deposition were varied to form an Au film with different surface textures, i.e., island‐like, mesh‐like, and flat surfaces.
CoOx films were deposited on these underlayers. The measurement of the magnetic properties and the SEM observation of the film cross section were carried out. When a CoOx film was deposited on an Au film with an island‐like surface texture, the CoOx film had a columnar structure perpendicular to the underlayer surface and the diameters of the columns were small. Because of this columnar structure, the perpendicular magnetic anisotropy was improved. When a CoOx film was deposited on a polymer film whose surface was roughened by sputter‐etching, the CoOx film had a columnar structure with a small columnar diameter.
From the foregoing results, it was found that the columnar structure and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy of a CoOx film can be controlled by changing the surface condition of the underlayer.