Separating dipolar broadening from the intrinsic switching field distribution in perpendicular patterned media

A critical requirement for bit patterned media applications is the control and minimization of the switching field distribution (SFD). Here, we use the Δ H ( M , Δ M ) method to separate dipolar interactions due to neighbor islands from the intrinsic SFD by measuring a series of partial reversal curves of perpendicular anisotropy Co ∕ Pd based multilayer films deposited onto prepatterned Si substrates. For a 100 - nm -period island array the dipolar broadening contributes 22% to the observed SFD. For a 45 - nm -period array this value increases to 31%. These results highlight the importance of quantifying long-range dipolar interactions for determining the intrinsic SFD of patterned media.