IEEE Transactions on Magnetics · 2004 · 65 citations · 8 references
Natural SciencesMaterials EngineeringMaterials ScienceMagnetic MaterialsMaterials ChemistryThin FilmsMagnetic CharacterizationMagnetic OxidesMagnetic Properties Of SolidsMagnetic Recording MaterialsMetal OxidesThin Film Magnetic PropertiesCoercivityCoercivity EnhancementMagnetic RecordingMagnetron SputteringPerpendicular Magnetic RecordingPerpendicular Magnetic Recording MediaSignal-to-noise RatioSputtering
The effect of oxygen incorporation on the crystallographic, magnetic, and recording performance of perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) oxide media was investigated. The media were prepared by dc-magnetron sputtering of CoCrPt-SiO/sub 2/ targets in an Ar/O/sub 2/ gas mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) detected Cr-O peaks in the sputtered film, whereas no strong evidence of SiO/sub 2/ is seen. Moderate oxygen incorporation in the film (/spl sim/15 at%) promotes Cr-O formation in the grain boundary and results in a dramatic increase of coercivity H/sub c/ and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). However, as the O/sub 2/ content is further increased, oxide incorporates into the core of the grains, resulting in decreased H/sub c/, magnetization and SNR.
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