IMPROVEMENT OF CO71CR19PT10 TI90CR10 PERPENDICULAR RECORDING MEDIA BYINDEPENDENT OPTIMIZATION OF FILM NUCLEATION AND GROWTH-PROCESSES/

CoCrPt/TiCr perpendicular recording media having independently optimiz ed nucleation and growth conditions have been prepared by changing the argon pressure during sputter deposition of each him. A low argon pre ssure CoCrPt nucleation layer produces strong c-axis perpendicular ori entation that can be maintained during continued CoCrPt deposition at high argon pressure. The two-layer media combines increased particle s eparation from high pressure growth and strong orientation to produce higher signal to noise ratio than either high pressure or low pressure single layer CoCrPt media. TiCr underlayers, despite poor orientation and a noncolumnar structure, improve CoCrPt c-axis perpendicular orie ntation. Low argon pressure during TiCr deposition maximizes CoCrPt or ientation. A TiCr bilayer having a low pressure nucleation layer follo wed by a high pressure growth layer improves performance of the subseq uent CoCrPt layer. A TiCr bilayer having a high pressure growth layer followed by a thin low pressure template produces even greater recordi ng performance enhancement. This media has H-c = 2560 Oe, D-50 = 90 kf ci and S-0/N-d at 240 kfci = 4.0. An identical CoCrPt layer deposited on the low pressure TiCr underlayer has H-c = 1850 Oe; D-50 = 80 kfci and S-0/N-d at 240 kfci = 2.4. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.