Microstructure and magnetic properties of CoCrPt/Cr films on ultrasmooth NiP/AlMg substrates Available to Purchase

Investigation of the correlation between the microstructure and magnetic properties of Co₆₈Cr₂₀Pt₁₂/Cr thin films which were sputter deposited under different conditions onto 95 mm ultrasmooth NiP/AlMg disk substrates (R_a∼2 Å) has been carried out. Grain morphology characteristics of the films and disk surface roughness were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by atomic force microscopy. Tilted‐specimen electron diffraction patterns were used to determine the crystallographic texture of the films. The low coercivity of the disks deposited at 100 °C preheated substrates is attributed to the randomly oriented grains of the CoCrPt/Cr layers. Enhancement of the coercivity of the disks deposited on 220 °C preheated substrates is thought to be mainly due to the (112̄0)CoCrPt/(002)Cr crystallographic texture and uniformly distributed grains which are equiaxed in shape. The strength of the (112̄0)CoCrPt/(002)Cr texture can be modified by the Ar gas pressure during the deposition of the Cr underlayer.