We have used ion irradiation to tune switching field and switching field distribution (SFD) in polycrystalline Co/Pd multilayer-based bit pattern media. Light ion irradiation strongly decreases perpendicular magnetic anisotropy amplitude due to Co/Pd interface intermixing, while the granular structure, i.e., the crystalline anisotropy, remains unchanged. In dot arrays, the anisotropy reduction leads to a decrease in coercivity but also to a strong broadening of the normalized (in percentage), since the relative impact of misaligned grains is enhanced. Our experiment thus confirms the major role of misorientated grains in SFD of nanodevice arrays.
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