CoPtCr:C nanocomposite films for high density recording

Authors

H. Zeng, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
M.L. Yan, University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Yi Liu, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
David J. Sellmyer, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

1-1-2001

Comments

Published by American Institute of Physics. J. Appl. Phys. 89, 810 (2001). ©2001 American Institute of Physics. Permission to use. http://jap.aip.org/jap/.

Abstract

We report results on the magnetic properties of nanocomposite films of the form (Co₈₆Cr₁₄)_xPt_1-x:C, which were prepared by magnetron sputtering and subsequent annealing. X-ray diffraction shows that these films consist of CoPtCr grains with the face-centered-tetragonal structure embedded in an amorphous C matrix. Magnetic properties such as coercivity (H_c), remanence ratio (S), and coercive squareness (S*) are strongly dependent on the Pt and C composition and annealing temperatures. Compared with previously reported CoPt:C films with a equiatomic Co and Pt ratio, lower exchange coupling and higher S and S* at the same C concentration were obtained. H_c values ranging from 2 to 10 kOe and S close to 1 were achieved for film thicknesses down to 10 nm. These features make CoPtCr:C nanocomposite films very attractive for next-generation high-density recording.