L10 Fe-Pt on nanocrystalline HITPERM soft magnetic underlayer for perpendicular recording media

Fe-Pt films with [002] perpendicular orientation have been prepared on HITPERM soft magnetic underlayers. Subsequent to preparing the HITPERM underlayer film at room temperature, Cr seed layers (20-80 nm), Pt buffer layers (∼3 nm), and Fe-Pt recording layers (8-30 nm) were sputter-deposited in-situ over a range of temperatures. The desired Cr [200] texture was obtained at ∼250-280°C. With the Cr seed layer [200] oriented, thick (80 nm) Cr films were seen to promote [002] orientation in thick (30 nm) Fe-Pt films, whereas thin (20 nm) Cr films promoted better [002] texture in thin (8 nm) Fe-Pt films. In the as-deposited state, the Fe-Pt films exhibited incomplete ordering to the L1₀ phase. Structural studies performed on these films, as well as domain images obtained from the HITPERM soft magnetic underlayer films, will be presented here.