热辅助磁盘探针存储的研究

描述了一种热辅助磁盘存储技术，该技术可应用于未来的高密度磁盘存储.记录介质是一种CoNi/Pt多层膜，它可用作垂直模式的磁记录介质.使用扫描隧道显微镜(STM)产生的隧道电流作为热源对磁膜进行局部加热.隧道电流随着加在STM针尖与磁膜之间的脉冲电压幅值的增大而增大.实验结果显示了圆形记录点在磁膜上生成，记录点尺寸与电压值相关，阈值电压为4V左右.当电压高于阈值时，记录点尺寸随着电压的增大而增大,平均尺寸为170nm；当电压低于阈值时，未发现记录点.一个简单的模型解释了以上实验现象. 关键词： 扫描隧道显微镜 热辅助磁盘存储技术 高密度磁盘存储     

Dependence of mark size on STM pulse voltage in heat-assisted magnetic probe recording on a cobalt–nickel–platinum thin film

This paper presents a method of heat-assisted magnetic probe recording on perpendicular medium. Electrical current from scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is employed as the major heating source. Recording medium is a strongly-coupled CoNi/Pt multilayered film. Pulses with amplitude of 3–7 V and duration of 200 ns were applied between the STM tip and the recording medium. Experiments show that magnetic marks with an average size of 184 nm were formed for voltages above 4 V. A model is built to simulate the formation of magnetic domains in the processing of probe-based magnetic recording. Simulation results agree with experiments well.     

Characterization of heat-assisted magnetic probe recording on CoNi/Pt multilayers

A method of heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) potentially suitable for probe-based storage systems is characterized. In this work, field emission current from a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) tip is used as the heating source. Pulse voltages of 2–7 V were applied to a CoNi/Pt multilayered film fabricated on either bare silicon or oxidized silicon substrates. Different types of Ir/Pt and W STM tips were used in the experiment. The results show that thermally recorded magnetic marks are formed with a nearly uniform mark size of 170 nm on the film fabricated on bare silicon substrate when the pulse voltage is above a threshold voltage. The mark size becomes 260 nm when they are written on the identical film fabricated on an oxidized silicon substrate. The threshold voltage depends on the material work function of the tip, with W having a threshold voltage about 1 V lower than Pt. A synthesized model, which contains the calculation of the emission current, the simulation of heat transfer during heating, and the study of magnetic domain formation, was introduced to explain experimental results. The simulation agrees well with the experiments.     

Preisach modeling of aftereffect in a magneto-optical medium with perpendicular magnetization

The aftereffect of Co/Pt multilayer films with perpendicular magnetization has been measured with a magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometer and calculated with a newly developed Preisach model. Compared to materials such as traditional magnetic recording media, Co/Pt multilayer films show a more complete picture of the progression of aftereffect because the magnetization of this material decays from saturation almost all the way to a ground state in a reasonable length of time. The magnetization measurements for times equal to negative and positive infinity are asymptotically horizontal, with a transition region that is linear on a logarithmic time scale. In contrast, typical published aftereffect analyses exhibit only a very small percentage of the total aftereffect that could be observed if time were not a factor in making measurements. A Preisach–Arrhenius model is used to calculate the magnetic aftereffect in the Co/Pt multilayer. Comparisons of the model to experimental results show not only the validity of the model, but also its value in predicting very short-time and long-time aftereffect behavior, and low levels of aftereffect occurring in noisy data, all of which are difficult to observe experimentally.     

Asymmetric domain nucleation and unusual magnetization reversal in ultrathin Co films with perpendicular anisotropy

We report unexpected phenomena during magnetization reversal in ultrathin Co films and Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. Using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy and magnetic force microscopy we have observed asymmetrical nucleation centers where the reversal begins for one direction of the field only and is characterized by an acute asymmetry of domain-wall mobility. We have also observed magnetic domains with a continuously varying average magnetization, which can be explained in terms of the coexistence of three magnetic phases: up, down, and striped.     

Slow Oscillations of the Perpendicular Magnetization of the Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt Spin Valve

The time dependences of the transfer of the magnetic moment between stable magnetic states of heterostructures with two Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt ferromagnetic layers with the perpendicular magnetization have been studied. Spontaneous oscillations of the macroscopic magnetization with a period of several hours are observed after switching the magnetic field to a new value. The phase portrait of the magnetic relaxation corresponds to damped oscillations. The macrospin oscillation may be due to the high nucleation rate of the reverse magnetization phase induced by the exchange and magnetic dipole interaction between the phase nucleation centers, which arise in different layers. The changes in the Zeeman energy of the system under magnetic oscillations are considered.     

Magnetization reversal in perpendicular exchange-biased multilayers

Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy exhibit an exchange bias when covered with an IrMn layer. The exchange bias field, which is about 7 mT for 3 Co/Pt bilayer repetitions and a Co layer thickness of 5 Å, can be increased up to 16.5 mT by the insertion of a thin Pt layer at the Co/IrMn interface. The interfacial magnetic anisotropy of the Co/IrMn interface (KSCo/IrMn =-0.09 mJ/m2) favours in-plane magnetization and tends to tilt the Co spins away from the film normal. Dynamical measurements of the magnetization reversal process reveal that both thermally activated spin reversal in the IrMn layer and domain wall nucleation in the Co/Pt multilayer influence the interfacial spin structure and therefore the strength of the perpendicular exchange bias field.     

Detection of domain wall propagation in a mesoscopic wire

Extraordinary Hall effect was used to detect the propagation of a domain wall in magnetic devices patterned in sputter grown Pt/Co(1 nm)/Pt sandwiches with perpendicular easy magnetization axis. In such films, domain walls propagate as coherent 1D nano-object in a 2D medium with weak fluctuation energy density. In a patterned device, the competition between global wall energy and Zeeman energy strongly influences the wall propagation.     

多层膜［Co85Cr15/Pt］20的磁性、垂直磁记录特性和微结构的关系

采用磁控溅射法制备了性能优良的以Pt为缓冲层的［Co85₈₅Cr15_{15/Pt］2020 多层膜，研究了溅射气压对［Co8585Cr1515/Pt］2020多层膜微结构和磁性的 影响.研究结果表明，Ar溅射气压对［Co8585Cr1515/Pt］2020多层膜的微结构 、垂直磁各向异性和矫顽力有重要的影响 关键词： 溅射气压 多层膜 垂直磁各向异性 有效磁各向异性常数}     

Improvement of magnetic properties and read/write characteristics in SmCo5 perpendicular thin films

An SmCo₅ alloy is a promising candidate for ultra-high density magnetic recording media because of its strong uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy, whose constant, K_u, is more than 1.1×10⁸ erg/cm³. Recently, we successfully obtained high perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for a sputter-deposited SmCo₅ thin film by introducing a Cu/Ti dual underlayer. However, it is necessary to improve magnetic properties and read/write (R/W) characteristics for applying SmCo₅ thin films to perpendicular magnetic recording media. In this study, we focused on reduction of magnetic domain size and change of a magnetization reversal process of SmCo₅ perpendicular magnetic thin films by introducing carbon (C) atoms into the constituent Cu underlayer. The magnetic domain size became small and the ratio of coercivity (H_c) against magnetic anisotropy (H_k) which is an index of the magnetization reversal process was increased by adding C atoms. We also evaluated the R/W characteristics of SmCo₅ double-layered media including C atoms. The medium noise was decreased and signal-to-noise ratio increased by introducing the C. The addition of C into the Cu underlayer is effective for changing the magnetization reversal process, reducing medium noise and increasing SNR.     

Complete magnetizing field relating with magnetization reversal dynamics

We report the experimental finding that a complete magnetizing field H_M exists in magnetization reversal dynamics of ferromagnetic thin films, which is much larger than the apparent magnetic saturation field measured from the major hysteresis loop. Magnetization reversal dynamics contrastingly changes from nucleation dominated to wall-motion dominated according to an initial magnetization state magnetized by a field below H_M, whereas it is basically unchanged when the field is larger than H_M. The complete magnetizing field is found to be 1.5–2.0 times larger than the apparent magnetic saturation field and 6–10 times smaller than the anisotropy field in Co/Pd multilayer thin films.     

Magnetic properties of a Pt/Co₂ FeAl/MgO structure with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy

Microstructures and magnetic properties of Ta/Pt/Co 2 FeAl(CFA)/MgO multilayers are studied to understand perpendicular magnetic anisotropy(PMA) of half-metallic full-Heusler alloy films.PMA is realized in a 2.5-nm CFA film with B2-ordered structure observed by a high resolution transmission electron microscope.It is demonstrated that a high quality interface between the ferromagnetic layer and oxide layer is not essential for PMA.The conversions between in-plane anisotropy and PMA are investigated to study the dependence of magnetic moment on temperature.At the intersection points,the decreasing slope of the saturation magnetization(M s) changes because of the conversions.The dependence of M s on the annealing temperature and MgO thickness is also studied.     

Nano-patterning of perpendicular magnetic recording media by low-energy implantation of chemically reactive ions

Magnetic nano-patterning of perpendicular hard disk media with perpendicular anisotropy, but preserving disk surface planarity, is presented here. Reactive ion implantation is used to locally modify the chemical composition (hence the magnetization and magnetic anisotropy) of the Co/Pd multilayer in irradiated areas. The procedure involves low energy, chemically reactive ion irradiation through a resist mask. Among N, P and As ions, P are shown to be most adequate to obtain optimum bit density and topography flatness for industrial Co/Pd multilayer media. The effect of this ion contributes to isolate perpendicular bits by destroying both anisotropy and magnetic exchange in the irradiated areas. Low ion fluences are effective due to the stabilization of atomic displacement levels by the chemical effect of covalent impurities.     

CoPt–Al 2 O 3 Nanocomposite Films: Synthesis,Structure, and Magnetic Properties

The structure and magnetic properties of CoPt–Al2O3 nanocomposite films synthesized by the annealing of Al/(Co3O4 + Pt) bilayers on a MgO(001) substrate at 650°C in vacuum are investigated. The synthesized composite films contain ferromagnetic CoPt grains with an average size of 25–45 nm enclosed in a nonconducting Al2O3 matrix. The saturation magnetization (Ms ~ 330 G) and coercivity (Hc ≈ 6 kOe) of the films are measured in the film plane and perpendicular to it. The obtained films are characterized by a spatial rotational magnetic anisotropy, which makes it possible to arbitrarily set the easy magnetization axis in the film plane or perpendicular to it using a magnetic field stronger than the coercivity (H > Hc).     

Thickness dependent magnetization dynamics of perpendicular anisotropy Co/Pd multilayer films

We present the measurements of the picosecond magnetization dynamics of Co/Pd multilayer films. The dynamic magnetization properties of sputtered multilayer films were analyzed as a function of Co layer thicknesses and applied bias field. Both the eigenfrequencies of the magnetization precession in the multilayers and the associated Gilbert damping exhibit extreme sensitivity to the magnetic layer thickness on an atomic monolayer scale. The eigenfrequency increases more than threefold when the Co thickness decreases from 7.5 to 2.8 Å, mainly due to the changes in effective saturation magnetization and perpendicular anisotropy constant. A concomitant 2.6-fold increase in the damping of the oscillations is observed and attributed to stronger interface dissipation in thinner Co layers. In addition, we introduce a quasi-1D micromagnetic model in which the multilayer stack is described as a one-dimensional chain of macrospins that represent each Co layer. This model yields excellent agreement with the observed resonance frequencies without any free parameters, while being much simpler and faster than full 3D micromagnetic modeling.     

Domain-wall guided nucleation of superconductivity in hybrid ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet layered structures

Domain-wall superconductivity is studied in a superconducting Nb film placed between two ferromagnetic Co/Pd multilayers with perpendicular magnetization. The parameters of top and bottom ferromagnetic films are chosen to provide different coercive fields, so that the magnetic domain structure of the ferromagnets can be selectively controlled. From the dependence of the critical temperature Tc on the applied magnetic field H, we have found evidence for domain-wall superconductivity in this three-layered F/S/F structure for different magnetic domain patterns. The phase boundary, calculated numerically for this structure from the linearized Ginzburg-Landau equation, is in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Designing magnetics of capped perpendicular media with minor-loop analysis

A novel method of analyzing the switching field distribution (SFD) and magnetic correlation length of perpendicular magnetic recording media that uses major and minor magnetization loops is proposed. By applying the analysis to a series of capped perpendicular media, we found that a thick capping layer with a low saturation magnetization effectively reduced SFD without rapidly increasing the magnetic correlation length. Transmission electron microscope observation suggests that the SFD is narrowed by the increased uniformity of intergranular exchange coupling via the thick capping layer. Evaluations of recording characteristics demonstrated a close correlation between narrower SFDs and improved recording performance. Reducing exchange coupling dispersion is a clear solution for improving the performance of recording media.     

Interaction of Magnetization Centers of Different Signs as the Cause of the Nonmonotonic Field Dependence of the Domain Wall Velocity in Synthetic Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt Ferrimagnets

The purpose of the work is to find the dependence of growth rate of magnetization centers of various types on their surrounding by other nucleation centers in a synthetic Pt/Co/Ir/Co/Pt ferrimagnet with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. The following four types of nucleation centers exist in a sample with two ferromagnetic layers of different thicknesses: P+ centers correspond to the regions where the magnetizations of the thick and thin Co layers are directed along an applied field (↑↑); P– centers are the regions where the magnetizations of the layers are opposite to an applied field (↓↓); and AP+ and AP– centers correspond to the regions where the magnetizations of the thick and thin Co layers are opposite to each other and the total magnetic moment is along (↑↓) or opposite to (↓↑) an applied field, respectively. P– nucleation centers are found to be surrounded by AP+ regions in any field and exhibit a monotonic field dependence of their boundary. The field dependence of the growth rate of AP– nucleation centers is nonmonotonic since, as the field increases, they are surrounded by AP+ nucleation centers, AP+ and P– regions, and only P– nucleation centers in strong fields.     

As-grown preparation of FePt-ordered alloy thin films from Pt/Fe bi-layered structure

A novel method to fabricate FePt-ordered alloy thin films with (0 0 1) preferential orientation from Pt/Fe bi-layered films has been developed. It is able to omit post-annealing with a furnace, and the whole process can be conducted in a chamber without exposing samples to air. In this method, the inter-diffusion and the hetero-epitaxial relation between Fe and Pt are key factors to attain an FePt-ordered alloy thin film with (0 0 1) preferential orientation. An FePt-ordered alloy thin film with (0 0 1) preferential orientation fabricated from Pt[3 nm]/Fe[3 nm] bi-layer employing this method exhibited a relatively large coercivity of 5.6 kOe and high squareness ratio of 0.94 on perpendicular magnetization property. This novel method has a potential to fabricate FePt-based perpendicular magnetic recording media more easily than several conventional methods.     

Magnetic field dependence of asymmetry in the magnetization reversal of ultrathin Co films and Co/Pt multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy

We studied the magnetization reversal in ultrathin [Co/Pt]_n films (n=1, 2, and 4) using magneto-optical Kerr microscopy. These materials demonstrate unusual asymmetries in the activity of nucleation centers and domain wall motion. It was found that application of very high holding magnetic field prior to magnetization reversal, exceeding some critical value much larger than the apparent saturation field, suppresses the subsequent ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers, activity. We revealed that the ‘asymmetric’ nucleation centers become active again after subsequent reversal cycles coming from a smaller holding field and studied how the asymmetry returns with the decrease of applied holding field. It was found that in low-coercivity ultrathin Co films, the asymmetry in domain wall velocity decreased sharply with the applied field increase and disappeared when the reversal field is greater than μ₀H=1.5 mT.