Title :
Improved grain isolation of Co80Pt20 films via grain boundary diffusion of Mn
Author :
Zou, Jie ; Bian, Bo ; Laughlin, David E. ; Lambeth, David N.
Author_Institution :
Seagate Technol., Bloomington, MN, USA
fDate :
7/1/2001 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
Post-deposition rapid thermal annealing (RTA) was performed on the Cr-less Co-20 at%Pt alloy with a Mn diffusion layer on top. A Ku value of about 8×106 erg/cm3 was obtained for the as-deposited film and it decreased only up to about 10% after annealing. The high intergranular exchange coupling of the as-deposited CoPt film was suppressed by RTA and the coercivity increased dramatically from about 2200 to 6000 Oe. The energy-filtered TEM plane-view images showed depletion of Co and aggregation of Mn at the CoPt grain boundaries. This is a direct evidence supporting preferential diffusion of materials from adjacent layers into magnetic grain boundaries
Keywords :
cobalt alloys; coercive force; grain boundary diffusion; grain boundary segregation; magnetic anisotropy; magnetic recording; magnetic thin films; platinum alloys; rapid thermal annealing; Co80Pt20; CoPt-Mn; as-deposited film; coercivity; energy-filtered TEM plane-view images; grain boundary diffusion; high intergranular exchange coupling; improved grain isolation; magnetic grain boundaries; manganese diffusion layer; post-deposition rapid thermal annealing; preferential diffusion; Chromium; Cobalt alloys; Grain boundaries; Magnetic anisotropy; Magnetic films; Magnetic materials; Magnetic properties; Manganese alloys; Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy; Rapid thermal annealing;
Journal_Title :
Magnetics, IEEE Transactions on
