Interface mediated control of microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt-C thin films

The microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt-C film deposited on the MgO/CrRu underlayer are studied in lieu of carbon doping in FePt and RF biasing assisted etching of the MgO underlayer. Increasing amounts of carbon doping in the FePt deteriorates the chemical ordering as a result of reduced kinetic energy of FePt adatoms due to frequent collision with carbon adatoms. This leads to a reduction in the magnetocrystalline anisotropy energy and hence the coercivity. RF etching of the MgO/CrRu underlayer before deposition of FePt helps to reduce the grain size and intergranular exchange interaction without adversely affecting the chemical ordering. Reduced intergranular exchange interaction leads to an increase in the coercivity.     

Effect of Ag underlayer thickness on the microstructure and magnetic properties of L10-FePt films

FePt/Ag films were deposited on thermally oxidized Si(100) substrates by magnetron sputtering at room temperature and then the as-deposited films were annealed at 500 ^°C. The microstructure and magnetic properties of the films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. The results indicate that introduction of the Ag underlayer promotes an ordering transformation of the FePt phase due to thermal tensile stress between the Ag underlayer and the FePt film. The in-plane tensile stress induced by the Ag underlayer should stretch the horizontal lattice parameter of FePt; thus, it is helpful for the ordering transformation. With increasing Ag underlayer thickness, the ordering parameter and coercivity first increase and then decrease. When the Ag underlayer thickness is 12 nm, the ordering parameter and coercivity of the film reach the maximum values, respectively. The Ag underlayer thickness also affects the magnetization reversal mechanism.     

Effect of Cr100−xTix (x = 0-19 at.%) alloy underlayers on the high coercivity of FePt thin film below the substrate temperature of 250 °C

The effect of Cr_100−xTi_x underlayer on orderd-L1₀ FePt films was investigated. A low-temperature ordering of FePt films could be attained through changing the Ti content of Cr_100−xTi_x underlayer. The ordering temperature of the 30 nm FePt film grown on 20 nm Cr₉₀Ti₁₀ underlayer was reduced to 250 °C which is practical manufacture process temperature. An in-plane coercivity was very high to 6000 Oe and a ratio of remnant magnetization (M_r) to saturation magnetization (M_s) was as large as 0.85. This result indicates that the coercivity obtained at 250 °C by the effect of CrTi underlayer is significantly higher than those obtained at 250-275 °C by the effect of underlayers in other conventional studies. The prominent improvement of the magnetic properties of ordered FePt thin films at low temperature of 250 °C could be understood with considering the strain-induced ordering phase transformation associated with lattice mismatch between Cr underlayer and FePt magnetic layer due to an addition of Ti content.     

L1_0-FePt合金单层磁性薄膜的微磁学模拟

具有四方结构的L10-FePt合金因其具有高磁晶各向异性和良好的化学稳定性而成为超高密度薄膜磁记录介质的最佳选择.对实验制备得到的磁性能良好的垂直取向L10-FePt合金单层膜进行了微磁学分析.在传统微磁学模型的基础上,根据晶体的对称性,引入了四角磁晶各向异性能密度的唯象表达形式;又依据薄膜生长过程中晶格对称性的破坏,考虑了薄膜面内的应力,并引入了磁弹性能.以四角磁晶各向异性能和磁弹性能为重点,对L10-FePt合金单层膜的磁滞回线进行了详细的分析,并且用微磁学方法确定了薄膜面内应力的大小.     

Investigation of fabrication and hetero-epitaxy relationship of CoCrPt thin films grown on CrW underlayer

This paper reports that longitudinally oriented CoCrPt thin films with Cr₈₅W₁₅ underlayer and CoCr intermediate layer for use of giant magnetoresistance heads were fabricated by magnetron sputtering. Without CoCr intermediate layer, CoCrPt layer deposited directly on Cr₈₅W₁₅ underlayer which has a dominant (200) texture exhibits unexpected (10\bar {1}1) texture. After introducing CoCr intermediate layer, the CoCrPt layer shifts into (11\bar {2}0) texture. This article studies the crystallographic hetero-epitaxy relationship between magnetic layer and underlayer in order to understand the appearance of CoCrPt (10\bar {1}1) texture on (200) textured Cr underlayer and the influence of CoCr intermediate layer on the inducement of CoCrPt (11\bar {2}0) texture. The CoCr intermediate layer plays a crucial role in controlling the microstructure and consequently the magnetic properties of the overlying magnetic layer.     

Enhancement of coercivity with reduced grain size in CoCrPt film grown by pulsed laser deposition

We report a pulsed laser deposition (PLD) growth of VMn/CoCrPt bilayer with a magnetic coercivity (H_c) of 2.2 kOe and a grain size of 12 nm. The effects of VMn underlayer on magnetic properties of CoCrPt layer were studied. The coercivity, H_c, and squareness, S, of VMn/CoCrPt bilayer, is dependent on the thickness of VMn. The grain size of the CoCrPt film can also be modified by laser parameters. High laser fluence used for CoCrPt deposition produces a smaller grain size. Enhanced H_c and reduced grain size in VMn/CoCrPt is explained by more pronounced surface phase segregation during deposition at high laser fluence.     

Control of crystallographic orientation in L10 FePt films by using Cr and CrW underlayers

The microstructure and magnetic properties of FePt films grown on Cr and CrW underlayers were investigated. The FePt films that deposited on Cr underlayer show (2 0 0) orientation and low coercivity because of the diffusion between FePt and Cr underlayer. The misfit between FePt magnetic layer and underlayer increases by small addition of W element in Cr underlayer or using a thin Mo intermediate layer, which is favorable for the formation of (0 0 1) orientation and the transformation of FePt from fcc to fct phase. A good FePt (0 0 1) texture was obtained in the films with Cr₈₅W₁₅ underlayer with substrate temperature of 400 °C. The FePt films deposited on Mo/Cr underlayer exhibit larger coercivity than that of the films grown on Pt/Cr₈₅W₁₅ because 5 nm Mo intermediate layer depressed the diffusion of Cr into magnetic layer.     

TiN underlayer and overlayer for TbFeCo perpendicular magnetic recording media

TiN thin film is prepared by DC reactive sputtering in Ar+N₂ atmosphere and its suitability as underlayer and overlayer for TbFeCo perpendicular recording media as well as its effect on the magnetic properties of the latter have been studied. Only 5 nm TiN overlayer and 20 nm under layer can successfully protect the TbFeCo film from oxidation. Initially the coercivity is increased sharply from about 2 to 6 kOe for an increase of underlayer thickness to 60 nm then the increasing rate of coercivity becomes very slow. The saturation magnetization remains almost constant with the underlayer thickness. The remanent squareness ratio remains constant at 1.0 with the underlayer thickness up to 60 nm then decreases.     

Sm–Co films for high-density magnetic recording media

In this experiment, Cr–Cu thin film was used as an underlayer for Sm–Co film. The magnetic properties and crystal structure of Sm–Co films prepared onto this kind of underlayer have been studied. Grain size and surface roughness have been reduced with the introduce of Cr. The Cr addition into the Cu underlayer also improves the c-axis orientation of Sm–Co films. As a result, films with squareness ratio as high as 0.95 and perpendicular coercivity as high as 12.3 kOe have been prepared.     

Effects of underlayer materials and substrate temperatures on the structural and magnetic properties of Nd2Fe14B films

Thin films of Nd_2Fe_{14}B were fabricated on heated glass substrates by dc magnetron sputtering. Different material underlayers (Ta, Mo, or W) were used to examine the underlayer influence on the structural and magnetic properties of the NdFeB films. Deposited on a Ta buffer layer at 420℃, the 300 nm thick NdFeB films were shown to be isotropic. But when the substrate temperature T_s was elevated to 520℃, the Nd_2Fe_{14}B crystallites of (00l) plane were epitaxially grown on Ta (110) underlayer. In contrast, Mo (110) buffer layer could not induce any preferential orientation in NdFeB film irrespective of the substrate temperature or film thickness. The W buffer layer was found to be most effective for the nucleation of Nd_2Fe_{14}B crystallites with c-axis alignment perpendicular to the film plane when T_s<490℃. But at T_s=490℃ the magnetic layer became isotropic. The maximum coercivity obtained was about 995 kA/m for the 100nm film deposited on W underlayer at 490℃. These variations were tentatively explained in terms of the lattice misfit between the underlayer and the magnetic layer, combined with the considerations of underlayer morphologies.     

The influence of annealing on the structural and magnetic properties of C/CoCrPt/CrTi trilayer recording media

Post-deposition annealing was performed on trilayer films consisting of a C overcoat layer on top of CoCrPt/CrTi/glass substrate. We observed a coercivity of 3600 Oe in the films with a 4 nm C overcoat, which was about three times larger than the coercivity of similar films without a C overcoat. This is most likely due to the significant decrease in intergranular exchange coupling for the films with C overcoat, as shown by the annealing treatment. It is believed that the diffusion of C into CoCrPt grain boundaries promotes magnetic grain isolation.     

Molecular dynamics simulations of AlN deposition on GaN substrate

ABSTRACT

In this work, we investigated the deposition of AlN film on GaN substrate by using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The effects of GaN substrate surface, growth temperature, and injected N: Al flux ratio on the growth of AlN film were simulated and studied. Consequently, the deposited AlN film on the (0001) Ga-terminated GaN surface achieves better surface morphology and crystallinity than that on the (000-1) N-terminated GaN surface due to the different diffusion ability of Al and N adatoms on two GaN surfaces. Furthermore, with the increase of growth temperature, the surface morphology and crystallinity of AlN film were improved owing to the enhanced mobility of adatoms. At the optimised injected N: Al flux ratio of 1, comparatively good surface morphology and crystallinity of deposited AlN films were realised. This method lays a foundation for the follow-up real-time study of defects and stress evolution of AlN on GaN and can be applied to film growth of other materials.     

A new TiW seed layer for SmCo5 films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

A new seed layer TiW is proposed for SmCo₅ films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The influence of a TiW seed layer on the microstructure and the surface morphology of Cu underlayer are studied. The grain size and surface roughness dependence of Cu underlayer on the thickness and the annealing of the TiW seed layer are also investigated. The improvement in the perpendicular magnetic properties of SmCo₅ film from the TiW seed layer is approved. The results show that a 5 nm Ti₃W₇ seed layer improves the microstructure and surface morphology of Cu underlayer, and significantly improves the perpendicular magnetic properties of SmCo₅ film. The diffusion barrier and a high melting point of the TiW seed layer are regarded as the physical mechanism of the improvement for SmCo₅ film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.     

Electrochemical formation of intermediate layer for Co/Pd multilayered media

Pd nanocluster seeds were formed on a soft magnetic underlayer (SUL) using an electrochemical substitution reaction, and were utilized as an intermediate layer for a Co/Pd multilayered ([Co/Pd]_n) perpendicular magnetic recording medium. A CoNiFeB film prepared with electroless deposition was used as SUL, which was immersed into a PdCl₂ solution for the formation of Pd seeds. The Pd seeds were found to effectively reduce the size of magnetic domains in the [Co/Pd]_n film deposited on them. The optimization of the concentration of the PdCl₂ solution and the use of the pretreatment process with a SnCl₂ solution were effective to obtain the smooth SUL surface with fine Pd seeds as small as 5 nm. The 20 nm-thick [Co/Pd]_n film deposited on the optimized Pd seeds/CoNiFeB SUL exhibited a high coercivity of 7.8 kOe and a small magnetic domain size of 69 nm. These results indicated that the combination of the Pd seeds and the electroless-deposited SUL was desirable in terms of the improvement not only in the magnetic properties of [Co/Pd]_n media but also in the mass productivity of the underlayer.     

Effect of carbon mixing on the perpendicular magnetization of [FePt/C]n=4/FePt multilayer nanocomposite films

The effect of carbon mixing on the perpendicular magnetization of magnetron sputtered FePt thin films was studied using magnetic property measurement, X-ray diffraction, and TEM microscopy. Micromagnetic simulation was carried out to study the effect of texture on the perpendicular coercivity. Unlike general conviction, the mixing of FePt with carbon led to a significant enhancement in the perpendicular magnetization. The maximum enhancement of perpendicular magnetization was observed at about 20 vol% of carbon, where carbon amorphous film started to completely enclose the individual FePt grains. This reason was explained that the epitaxial growth and thus perpendicular texture of ordered FePt grains were maximized due to the relaxation of coherency for epitaxial growth which was maximized in the isolated grains. The perpendicular coercivity reached 8500 Oe, while the in-plane coercivity (120 Oe) remained negligible. The simulation showed that the enhancement of perpendicular texture can largely increase the perpendicular coercivity of FePt:C thin film.     

Strongly in-plane magnetized FePt thin film on ultrathin Fe underlayer

The effect of ultrathin Fe underlayer on the strong in-plane magnetization of FePt magnetic thin film was investigated. This FePt thin film could be attained using the ultrathin Fe underlayer with 1 nm thickness. The in-plane coercivity of FePt film with 20 nm thickness grown on ultrathin Fe underlayer was high up to 7400 Oe. However, its out-of-plane coercivity was extremely low to 350 Oe compared to those of FePt thin films in other conventional studies. This result indicates that FePt thin film was strongly in-plane magnetized by ultrathin Fe underlayer. The strong ordering phase transformation kinetics and the high texturing to in-plane direction of the FePt thin film by ultrathin Fe underlayer were confirmed by Kinetics Monte Carlo (KMC) simulation and XRD measurement result, respectively. It is also supposed that they are associated with the reduction of an interface free energy between the film and the substrate with an introduction of ultrathin underlayer.     

Microstructure and magnetic properties studies of SmCo5 thin films grown on MgO and glass substrates

In this work, SmCo₅ thin films are deposited on single crystal MgO (1 0 0) and amorphous glass substrates with a Cr underlayer at 400 °C by sputtering. A comparison study shows that the microstructures and magnetic properties are different in the two SmCo₅ films on the MgO (1 0 0) and glass substrates, respectively. An epitaxial growth of Cr-(2 0 0)〈1 1 0〉/SmCo₅-(1 1 2¯ 0)〈0 0 0 1〉 is achieved on the MgO (1 0 0) single crystal substrate with an average grain size of 20 nm for SmCo₅. On the amorphous glass substrate, no significant crystallographic texture is found in the Cr underlayer. After the deposition of SmCo₅, a weak texture of (1 1 2¯ 0) is observed with an average grain size of 8 nm. High remanence ratio value in this film is probably due to strong exchange coupling. Both SmCo₅ films show high in-plane coercivity, high in-plane anisotropy and remanence enhancement.     

In situ measurement of the surface stress evolution during magnetron sputter-deposition of Ag thin film

We measured the evolution of in situ surface stress of Ag thin film during the magnetron sputter deposition. The measurement of force per width of Ag thin film showed that both the surface state and surface stress of Ag layer can be controlled through the variation of the deposition conditions such as the deposition temperature and rate. At room temperature, the force per width curve of Ag film deposited to 1 Å/s showed a typical curve consisting of three stages of surface stress. A brief presence of initial compressive stage and broad tensile maximum resulting in a compressive state had a tendency to disappear with increasing the deposition temperature. Meanwhile, a development of final compressive stage was more at higher temperature. Similar effect was observed but less obvious on increasing the deposition rate.     

Structure and magnetic properties of γ′-Fe4N films grown on MgO-buffered Si (0 0 1)

γ′-Fe₄N thin films were grown on MgO-buffered Si (1 0 0) by pulsed laser deposition technique. Different crystallographic orientations and in-plane magnetic anisotropies were achieved by varying the growth temperature of the MgO buffer layer. When the MgO buffer layer was grown at room temperature, the γ′-Fe₄N film shows isotropic in-plane magnetic properties without obvious texture; while in-plane magnetic anisotropy was recorded for the γ′-Fe₄N films deposited on a 600 °C-grown-MgO buffer due to the formation of a (1 0 0)-oriented biaxial texture. Such a difference in in-plane magnetic anisotropy is attributed to the epitaxial growth of γ′-Fe₄N film on an MgO buffer with relaxed strain when the MgO layer was grown at a high temperature of 600 °C.     

Sputtering gases and pressure effects on the microstructure,magnetic properties and recording performance of TbFeCo films

The MsHc value is considered to be a key factor in high-density recording, and controlling the microstructure on the magnetic underlayer was found to be an effective way of increasing the MsHc of the amorphous TbFeCo magneto-optical (MO) medium. In this paper, we investigate the TbFeCo film's magnetic properties and the effects on the microcolumnar structure, which depends on the sputtering conditions of using various sputtering gases including Ar, Kr, and Xe, and the recording characteristics of TbFeCo memory layers. With heavy sputtering gases such as Kr or Xe, the columnar structure can be prepared in a TbFeCo film at a pressure lower than 1.0 Pa. The columnar structure of a recording layer can be effectively formed thanks to the effects of the magnetic underlayer, which has a fine surface even in the sputtering process in which Xe gas is used. The above applies to the sputtering process in which Ar gas is used. Also, when Xe gas is used in the sputtering process, coercivity Hc is increased through the formation of a well-segregated microcolumnar structure built on domain wall pinning sites, and we obtain a large MsHc and a high squareness ratio of the Kerr-hysteresis loop. Our results indicate that processing a TbFeCo film with heavy sputtering gases is suitable for tiny mark stability because the temperature gradient of Hc is increased. The objective of the low-pressure sputtering process using Xe gas to produce the columnar structure is to achieve ultra-high-density recording with tiny mark stability in the TbFeCo medium. This has been confirmed with magnetic force microscope (MFM) images of stable tiny marks recorded on TbFeCo film.