EFFECT OF GRAIN-SIZE ON INTERGRANULAR MAGNETOSTATIC COUPLING IN THIN-FILM MEDIA

In order to characterize the intergranular coupling and to clarify the effect of grain size on intergranular magnetostatic coupling in thin- film media, the temperature dependences of magnetic properties H-c, H- k(grain), and M-s for ultraclean-(UC)-processed CoCrTa media with vari ous grain sizes have been examined in order to discuss the effect of g rain size on intergranular magnetostatic coupling. The results are tha t (1) in the UC-processed media, the magnetostatic coupling mode is fo und to be dominant as the intergranular coupling and in the normal pro cessed media, the exchange coupling mode is dominant, and (2) the decr ease in 4 pi M-s\H-k(grain) below 1.0 is the most effective to suppres s the increment in the magnetostatic coupling due to the seduction in the grain size, were clarified. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics .