Microstructural development in Co-Cr films for perpendicular recording media

Lee, J.-W.; Demczyk, B. G.; Mountfield, K. R.; Laughlin, David E.

doi:10.1109/tmag.1987.1065322

Cited by 13 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Thicker films were deposited onto glass (Corning 7059) substrates which were mechanically thinned to about 40 p.m, after which they were ion(Al+)beam-milled to electron transparency. The similarity of microstructures for thick (> 50 nm) films deposited on amorphous carbon and glass substrates has been reported previously [8]. Section samples (deposited on glass) were fabricated by bonding two films face-to-face, mechanical thinning, and ion-beam milling.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…CoCr thin films have been considered for a number of years as the leading candidate for perpendicular recording media [1,2]. There have been a number of reviews [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] of the film microstructure and magnetic properties. Generally, these studies have concluded that the development of a columnar microstructure with a strong hcp c-axis texture perpendicular to the film plane occurs concurrently with the observation of a large positive magnetocrystalline anisotropy favoring magnetization normal to the film plane.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evolution of microstructure and magnetic properties in magnetron-sputtered CoCr thin films

Demczyk¹

1992

Ultramicroscopy

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The microstructure and magnetic-structure development in magnetron-sputtered Co-22at%Cr thin films deposited on amorphous substrates has been examined systematically and in detail. It has been found that the initial deposit is amorphous up to a thickness of ~ 5 nm. By 10 nm thickness, a polycrystalline highly hcp c-axis textured (out of the film plane) microstructure is observed. At 50 nm thickness, a distinct columnar morphology has developed. A distinct subgrain structure was also observed in the thinner films (10-50 nm). The magnetization is initially in-plane and retains in-plane components up to a thickness of ~ 50 nm, after which it is predominantly out-of-plane. The effects of in-plane film stress are reflected in the effective anisotropy field and are most evident in the thinner films, where the stress is highest. The thinnest (10 nm) films display in-plane 180 ° domain walls while thicker (50 nm) films exhibit out-of-plane "dot"-type domain structures. The "dot" domains were observed even in films that had not yet developed a columnar morphology. Intermediate-thickness films show a "feather-like" contrast, indicating that both in-and out-of-plane magnetization components are present. Intrinsic film stress was found to play a major role in determining the preferred magnetization direction and, thus, the resulting magnetic domain configurations.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 64%