CoPt and FePt thin films for high density recording media

Highly anisotropic face-centered-tetragonal (fct) CoPt and fct FePt nanoparticles have been prepared and embedded in a C or BN matrix by cosputtering from pure Co50Pt50, BN, and Fe50Pt50, C solid targets using a tandem deposition mode. The as-made films show a disordered face-centered-cubic structure which is magnetically soft and have low coercivity (107 erg/cm3. Transmission electron microscope studies showed FePt particles embedded in C matrix with a size increasing from below 3 nm in the as-made state to about 8 nm in the optimum annealed state. These results are very promising and make these materials potential candidates for high-density magnetic recording.