PLANAR PATTERNED MAGNETIC MEDIA OBTAINED BY ION IRRADIATION

By ion irradiation through a lithographically made resist mask, the ma gnetic properties of cobalt-platinum simple sandwiches and multilayers were patterned without affecting their roughness and optical properti es. This was demonstrated on arrays of 1-micrometer lines by near- and far-field magnetooptical microscopy, The coercive force and magnetic anisotropy of the irradiated regions can be accurately controlled by t he irradiation fluence. If combined with high-resolution lithography, this technique holds promise for ultrahigh-density magnetic recording applications.