Wavelength response of perpendicular magnetic recording

From the measurements of the surface field of a recording medium, it was obtained that an almost ideal step change distribution of magnetization is formed in perpendicular recording for digital signals. The fact represents that the upper limit of usable recording density is determined only by the resolution of a reproducing head. Therefore, the reproduction by a perpendicular head was successfully analyzed by using the reciprocity theorem. By introducing thickness loss of main pole of the head, the satisfactory coincidence was obtained between the calculated and the measured results in the wavelength response even at the densities of more than 150 kMRPI. In reproducing process, the magnetic interaction between the main pole and the medium acts so as to decrease the effective spacing between them.     

Fundamental properties of perpendicular magnetic recording

A two dimensional computer simulation model of the magnetic recording process has been, developed to assess the fundamental properties of perpendicular magnetic recording. It was found that vertical anisotropy media are well suited to abrupt and closely spaced magnetic transitions. The demagnetizing fields support short transitions in the perpendicular mode as opposed to degrading transitions in the longitudinal mode. However, gapped heads may have difficulty in delivering high intensity vertical fields to saturate the medium. Novel write head designs might be required.     

Composite media for perpendicular magnetic recording

A composite perpendicular recording media consisting of magnetically hard and soft regions within each grain is proposed. Application of applied field initially causes the magnetization of the soft region to rotate and, thus, change the angle of the effective field applied to the hard region. This important change in the effective field is enabled by an exchange layer that moderates the interaction between the two regions. Energy arguments show that the resulting performance (as measured by the ratio of energy barrier to switching field) is similar to the previously proposed tilted media, while avoiding some of the difficulties. In particular, fabrication of the proposed composite media appears to be significantly easier than that of tilted media.     

Wear properties of perpendicular magnetic recording media

Wear properties of sputtered Co-Cr/permalloy double layer on flexible substrate with and without an inorganic protective top layer were studied under simulated tribological conditions. A soft head slider (ex. glass) gave even severer damage to media than the hard one (ex. Al2O3-TiC), and a 200 Å thin inorganic protective top layer was effective enough to enhance resistance against wear. Read-write experiments were also done with use of the double layer flexible media with the protective top layer (200 Å in thickness) by running them on a specially designed driver unit with an Al2O3.TiC spherical SPT head. An out-put signal loss was no more than 3dB even after 10 million times of the head passes.     

Nanocomposite magnetic films for high-density perpendicular magnetic recording media

Multi-layer nanocomposite structures of Ta/Ru/CoCr₁/FeCoTaCr(soft magnetic layer)/CoCr₂/CoCrPt-SiO₂(hard magnetic layer or recording layer)/C and Ta/Ru/CoCr₁/CoCrPt-SiO₂/CoCr₂/FeCoTaCr/C were proposed. This exchange coupled composite (ECC) media consisting of hard/soft stacked magnetic layers were promising in improving the writability of perpendicular magnetic recording media. A small CoCrPt c-axis orientation dispersion of about 3° was achieved with the optimized sputter conditions. The CoCrPt-SiO₂ grains were well segregated by SiO₂ at grain boundaries. The macro-magnetic properties showed that the stacked magnetic grains switched in a coherent mode and that switching field decreased with increasing the thickness of the soft magnetic layer.     

The switching criterion in perpendicular magnetic recording

This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the effect of the "switching criterion", the level at which self-consistency is assumed in calculations on the perpendicular magnetic recording process. It can be proven that in a perpendicular recording configuration with an ideal keeper layer and a recording layer with a rectangular hysteresis loop, the switching criterion in stand-still recording situations is immaterial, because self-consistency is reached at all depth levels simultaneously. If either the keeper layer is absent, or the recording layer's hysteresis loop is sheared, it is shown that the higher the level at which self-consistency is assumed, the sharper the stand-still recorded transitions will be.     

Switching time of single magnetic particle and maximum recording frequency of perpendicular magnetic recording

We investigated the switching time of a magnetic particle-which may impose limits on magnetic recording frequency-by computer simulation. We found that the difference in switching time between low and high temperatures decreases with increasing the angle /spl xi/ between the applied field and the easy direction, and scarcely changes with temperature if the angle is larger than a few degrees. This can be explained by considering the energy contour and locus of magnetization in switching. The switching times derived by using divided models, in which the particle is divided into 2/spl times/2/spl times/2 or 4/spl times/4/spl times/4 cells, are smaller than those derived by using an undivided model. But the difference between the switching times derived with the divided and undivided models is less than 1% if the angle /spl xi/ is larger than 1/spl deg/. We derived equations to express the switching times of the particle for the divided models at /spl xi/=0, and we used the equations to estimate the maximum recording frequency in perpendicular recording.     

Co-Cr perpendicular magnetic recording tape by vacuum deposition

The relation between the incident angle and the crystallographic orientation of a vacuum deposited Co-Cr film is discussed. Also presented are the magnetic properties and the orientation of both a Ni-Fe underlayer and the Co-Cr film for the double layer medium, and the experimental results about the composition distribution in the co-cr film. The films were deposited on a transporting polymer substrate by continuous vacuum deposition. It is found that the orientation of the Co-Cr film is determined only by the incident angle at the initial point of the film formation, and that deposition efficiency more than 50% can be achieved easily. A double layer medium with Ti film under the Ni-Fe film (Co-Cr/Ni-Fe/Ti medium), which is suitable for perpendicular magnetic recording, is produced by vacuum deposition. Auger depth profile in radial direction of the column of the Co-Cr film shows directly that there is Cr segregation near the columnar grain boundaries.     

5.25 inch floppy disk drive using perpendicular magnetic recording

5.25 inch high density perpendicular magnetic recording floppy disk drive has beer developed by employing new types of high saturation magnetization ring head, Co-Cr single layer medium with Ge underlayer, head slider with ellipsoidal surface configuration to assure intimate head to medium contact, and signal equalization. By these combination, recording density D50 of 145 kFCI, peakshift of 28 % at 100 kFCI, signal to noise ratio of 40.4 dB for cut-off frequency 4.25 MHz, overwrite signal to noise ratio of 27 dB, measured by writing signals at 48 kFCI over previously written 100 kFCI signals were obtained as typical recording characteristics. These results would indicate that floppy disk drive with 100 kFCI recording density has enough system margin by above-mentioned combination. In this paper, design and performance of newly developed floppy disk drive are described.     

Cobalt chromium perpendicular magnetic recording media: a corrosionstudy

An electrochemical and environmental chamber study of the effects of corrosion on the magnetic properties of various cobalt chromium thin-film compositions is reported. The propensity of these various materials towards corrosion is delineated, with suggestions for an optimum composition with respect to corrosion resistance. The effects of the presence of a titanium seed layer and those of a soft nickel/iron keeper layer on the corrosion resistance of the recording medium are studied     

The effect of magnetic interaction between medium and head on perpendicular magnetic recording characteristics

The high density recording characteristics of perpendicular magnetic recording using a single-pole head are affected by the magnetic interaction between the medium and the head. By decreasing the relative thickness of the Co-Cr layer in the double-layer medium to that of the main-pole of the head, and increasing the saturation magnetization of the Co-Cr layer, the high density recording characteristics are enhanced. When requisite conditions are realized, the reproduced voltage vs. bit density characteristics are improved considerably for a thinner main-pole of the single-pole head.     

Fabrication and characterization of thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for high-density magnetic recording

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was first observed in thin films of cobalt-chromium alloys in 1974, and perpendicular magnetic recording was proposed in 1977. After less than ten years, a new technology for high-density magnetic recording is firmly established. This breakthrough of the science and technology of magnetic recording has been made possible mainly through the ingenuity and concerted efforts of researchers. The preparation, characterization, and application of the Co-Cr films featuring PMA have been extensively studied. This paper reviews the large number of reports on PMA films with emphasis on three areas: 1. processing of PMA films; 2. correlation of magnetic properties and microstructures of PMA films; and 3. state-of-art techniques for fabricating PMA films.Nomenclature PMA Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy - PMR Perpendicular magnetic recording - B Magnetic induction - H Magnetic field - H _c Coercivity - H _c, Perpendicular coercivity - H _d Demagnetizing field - H _k Anisotropy field - H Perpendicular anisotropy constant - M _r Remanent magnetization - M_s Saturation magnetization - P _Ar Argon pressure - T _s Substrate temperature - V _b Substrate bias voltage - Incidence angle - ₅₀ Half-width dispersion angle in the rocking curve - _c Curie temperature - ₀ Internal stress     

Fabrication and characterization of thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for high-density magnetic recording

Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) was first observed in thin films of cobalt-chromium alloys in 1974, and perpendicular magnetic recording was proposed in 1977. After less than ten years, a new technology for high-density magnetic recording is firmly established. This breakthrough of the science and technology of magnetic recording has been made possible mainly through the ingenuity and concerted efforts of Iwasaki and other researchers. The preparation, characterization, and application of the Co-Cr films featuring PMA have been extensively studied. This paper reviews the large number of reports on PMA films with emphasis in three areas: (1) processing of PMA films; (2) correlation of magnetic properties and microstructures of PMA films; and (3) state-of-the-art techniques for fabricating PMA films.Nomenclature PMA Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy - PMR Perpendicular magnetic recording - B Magnetic induction - H Magnetic field - H _c Coercivity - H _c, Perpendicular coercivity - H _d Demagnetizing field - H _K Anisotropy field - H Perpendicular anisotropy constant - M _r Remanent magnetization - M _s Saturation magnetization - P _Ar Argon pressure - T _s Substrate temperature - V _b Substrate bias voltage - Incidence angle - ₅₀ Half-width dispersion angle in the rocking curve - _c Curie temperature - _o Internal stress     

High-potential magnetic anisotropy of CoPtCr-SiO/sub 2/ perpendicular recording media

The magnetic anisotropy of CoPtCr-SiO/sub 2/ perpendicular recording media, including higher energy terms, was studied as a function of film composition and seed layer materials. All series of CoPtCr films with various Cr content, deposited on Ru seed layers, show maximum values of total anisotropy K/sub u/ at 25-30 at%Pt. The maximum value for CoPt(Cr=0) films reaches /spl sim/15/spl times/10/sup 6/ erg/cm/sup 3/. The addition of SiO/sub 2/ to the CoPtCr films reduces the grain K/sub u/, however the grain K/sub u/ maintains a large value of 8/spl times/10/sup 6/ erg/cm/sup 3/ even when 10at%SiO/sub 2/ is added to (Co/sub 90/Cr/sub 10/)/sub 80/Pt/sub 20/, for instance, which indicates the high-potential thermal stability. Theoretical calculations for media designs of 400 Gbits/in/sup 2/ revealed that the ratio of the high-energy anisotropy term K/sub u2/ to K/sub u1/(K/sub u/=K/sub u1/+K/sub u2/) is required to be 0.2-0.35 to enhance the energy barrier for the remanent state, without a notable change in switching field. The films deposited on Ru seed layers were found to show negligibly small K/sub u2/ values, however, the values of K/sub u1/ and K/sub u2/ vary significantly with the seed layer material used. K/sub u1/ decreases almost linearly as the K/sub u2/ value increases. It is concluded that CoPtCr films have a sufficient potential in the values of K/sub u1/ and K/sub u2/ for high-density perpendicular media.     

Analytical modelling of perpendicular recording

An analytical model for perpendicular magnetic recording is presented which is capable of calculating 'ab-initio' the magnetisation distributions written by an 'arbitrary' head field into both single and double layer recording media. Magnetisations are shown to follow the head field distribution existing at the medium's top surface. Application of the theory allows prediction of many of the fundamental features of the perpendicular write/read cycle, e.g. transition widths, replay pulse shapes, D50values etc.     

Crucial points in perpendicular recording

Since the introduction of perpendicular recording on a floppy disc by IWASAKI in 1977 and its equivalent design on a rigid disc (SPH-like sensor + double-layer medium) in 1981, many tests have been carried out on different R/W sensors. For each test the main goal was the fci record or the improvement of the magnetic layer. Seen from the recording system point of view, the head and the medium are looked at as a unit through a specification, unchanging with increasing area density. For example, a minimum of 26 dB and 70 % must be achieved for the S/N ratio and the resolution respectively. By considering the noise of the best electronic channel (with a thin film head), and ignoring mechanical and medium noises, the output signal must be at least 250 μv pop. For a 50 Kfci application, however, a sensor does not yet exist. Using a ferrite head with a 1.2 μm gap length to write on FeTbGd, the level of the signal will not be high enough to be used. It is improved with a 0.6 μm gap head but then, the field doesn't allow us to write ! Such problems exist also with thin film heads or SPH like sensors on rigid discs. To improve the R/W process, the trend is to use a double layer medium e.g. CrCo/FeNi. The results show that this direction is not necessarily the best. For example, when erasing or over-writing with the head, some domains appear in the FeNi film which create noise from the track or its edge. Another example is the fact that the optimum parameters for a medium such as CrCo are not always compatible with the characteristics of the head (i.e. Hc, the thickness, the crystallographic orientation, the bit stability compared to the write field, the signal, the noise...).     

Magnetization transitions obtained by deconvolution of measured replay pulses in perpendicular magnetic recording

Magnetization transitions in perpendicular magnetic recording have been calculated from measured replay pulses by a deconvolution algorithm using an analytical expression for the field of a probe head (PH). The transitions appear to be asymmetric whereby a pronounced magnetization peak occurs whose shape depends on the medium coercivity. For the experiments double layer media with double sided probe heads have been used. For the deconvolution only perpendicular head field and medium magnetization components are considered.     

Scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis of grain structure in perpendicular magnetic recording media

The key component of a hard disk medium is a Co-based magnetic layer (ML) grown on a Ru seed layer. The ML nanostructure, composed of less than 10 nm grains, is believed to be controlled by this seed layer. We successfully used scanning transmission electron microscopy energy dispersive spectrometry simultaneous composition-based imaging and Moire? pattern analysis for determining the mutual structural and orientation relationship between the two layers revealing a grain-to-grain agreement. The method presented here can be utilized for observing structural correlations between consecutive polycrystalline thin film layers in general.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy study of amorphous TbFeCo films for perpendicular magnetic data recording

Amorphous films of the Tb _x Fe_{(100 − x − y)}Co _y system with a thickness of ∼200 nm were deposited by RF magnetron sputtering at various pressures of argon (P _Ar) in the working chamber. It is established that the easy axis in Tb₂₉Fe₆₁Co₁₀ films is oriented at an angle of 15° ± 4° relative to the normal to the film surface, whereas in Tb₂₆Fe₆₅Co₉ films this axis is parallel to the normal. The properties of the Tb₂₆Fe₆₅Co₉ films deposited at P _Ar = 5 mTorr meet the requirements to media for the perpendicular magnetic data recording.     

High-density perpendicular magnetic recording media of granular-type (FePt/MgO)/soft underlayer

Perpendicular magnetic recording media, composed of granular-type FePt-MgO films on Fe-Ta-C soft magnetic underlayer (SUL), have been fabricated on to 2.5-in glass disks. [001] textured FePt granular films with high-perpendicular magnetic anisotropy were obtained by annealing the FePt/MgO multilayer films. The FePt grain size, perpendicular coercivity, magnetic activation volume, and the exchange coupling between the FePt grains were found to be strongly dependent on the initial multilayer structures and the annealing conditions. The recording performance of the disks was evaluated by a spin-stand. The obtained results reveal a close correlation between the recording performance and magnetic properties. The thermal stability of the granular-type FePt media was studied using high-temperature magnetic force microscopy (MFM) technique, equipped with in situ sample heating, in the temperature range 25/spl deg/C-200/spl deg/C. The estimated signal decay at high temperature is ascribed to the temperature dependent magnetic anisotropy behavior.