Magnetic and structural properties of dc magnetron sputtered CoCr thin films

Abstract Thin films of CoCr are considered to be the most promising media for high-density perpendicular magnetic recording. It is shown that when depositing single CoCr layers onto a Si substrate by dc magnetron sputtering excellent magnetic and morphological properties can be achieved. The growth of nodular defects hindering a small head to medium spacing is characterized by cross-sectional TEM and discussed on the basis of a shadowing model treated by computer simulations.