Understanding the growth of high-aspect-ratio grains in granular L1-FePt thin-film magnetic media

A systematic investigation has been performed to optimize the microstructure of L10-FePt–SiOx granular thin films as recording media for heat-assisted magnetic recording. The FePt–boron nitride (BN) nucleation layer, which is stable even at 700 °C, is used to control the grain sizes and microstructu...

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Veröffentlicht in:APL materials 2022-05, Vol.10 (5)
Hauptverfasser: Xu, Chengchao, Zhou, Bing, Du, Tianxiang, Varaprasad, B. S. D. Ch. S., Laughlin, David E., Zhu, Jian-Gang (Jimmy)
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:A systematic investigation has been performed to optimize the microstructure of L10-FePt–SiOx granular thin films as recording media for heat-assisted magnetic recording. The FePt–boron nitride (BN) nucleation layer, which is stable even at 700 °C, is used to control the grain sizes and microstructure during the high-temperature processing. The study finds that films of high-aspect-ratio FePt grains with well-formed silicon oxide (SiOx) grain boundaries require the grading of the deposition temperature during film growth as well as the grading of the silicon oxide concentration. Well-isolated columnar grains of L10-FePt with an average height greater than 11 nm and diameters less than 7 nm have been achieved. Transmission electron microscopy analysis of the microstructures of samples produced under a variety of non-optimal conditions is presented to show how the microstructure of the films depends on each of the sputtering parameters.
ISSN:2166-532X
2166-532X
DOI:10.1063/5.0089009