Quantitative transmission electron microscopy analysis of multi-variant grains in present L1-FePt based heat assisted magnetic recording media
We present a study on atomic ordering within individual grains in granular L10-FePt thin films using transmission electron microscopy techniques. The film, used as a medium for heat assisted magnetic recording, consists of a single layer of FePt grains separated by non-magnetic grain boundaries and...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of applied physics 2014-11, Vol.116 (19) |
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Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | We present a study on atomic ordering within individual grains in granular L10-FePt thin films using transmission electron microscopy techniques. The film, used as a medium for heat assisted magnetic recording, consists of a single layer of FePt grains separated by non-magnetic grain boundaries and is grown on an MgO underlayer. Using convergent-beam techniques, diffraction patterns of individual grains are obtained for a large number of crystallites. The study found that although the majority of grains are ordered in the perpendicular direction, more than 15% of them are multi-variant, or of in-plane c-axis orientation, or disordered fcc. It was also found that these multi-variant and in-plane grains have always grown across MgO grain boundaries separating two or more MgO grains of the underlayer. The in-plane ordered portion within a multi-variant L10-FePt grain always lacks atomic coherence with the MgO directly underneath it, whereas, the perpendicularly ordered portion is always coherent with the underlying MgO grain. Since the existence of multi-variant and in-plane ordered grains are severely detrimental to high density data storage capability, the understanding of their formation mechanism obtained here should make a significant impact on the future development of hard disk drive technology. |
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ISSN: | 0021-8979 1089-7550 |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.4902082 |