CoZrRe amorphous film heads for high-density magnetic recording

CoZrRe amorphous film heads with superior performance have been developed for use in high-density magnetic recording. These films produce near-zero magnetostriction of less than +2.5*10/sup -7/ and saturation magnetization of 1.2 T. It is found that the addition of a small amount of Re to CoZr markedly improves the stability of magnetic properties during head fabrication. However, the process temperature must be less than 200 degrees C. To realize the required temperature, a dry process is developed, using sputtered SiO/sub 2/ films for insulation instead of conventional hard-cured photoresist. A maximum process temperature of about 150 degrees C is obtained As a result, a high linear density of more than 2100 fr/mm (53 kfci) at a spacing of 0.1 mu m is achieved using CoZrRe film heads and metal-sputtered media with a coercivity of 1300 Oe.< >