Improvement of magnetic intergranular isolation and evaluation of read/write characteristics on SmCo₅ perpendicular magnetic thin films

SmCo₅ alloy is a promising candidate for ultra-high-density perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) media because of its high uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy K_u of more than 1.1×10 ⁸ erg/cm³. Previously, we successfully achieved high K_u in a sputter-deposited SmCo₅ thin film by introducing a Cu/Ti dual underlayer. However, in order to apply the SmCo₅ films to practical PMR media, it is necessary to decrease medium noise. A granulated magnetic film comprising of small and magnetically decoupled grains is effective in reducing the medium noise. In this paper, we have proposed a new granular film that is fabricated by partial thermodiffusion of Cu between the SmCo continuous layer and the Cu underlayer, which is granulated using compositional segregation caused by the addition of Ta₂O₅. We have analyzed the magnetic properties, magnetic domain size, and magnetization reversal process of the proposed SmCo₅ film. The magnetic domain size decreased and the magnetization reversal process changed from the magnetic-wall-motion mode to a coherent rotation mode to some extent on isolation of magnetic grains. The read/write characteristics of granulated SmCo₅ double-layered media were also evaluated. The medium noise decreased and the signal-to-noise ratio increased for the granulated double-layered (PMR) medium.