ORIENTATION RATIO REDUCTION THROUGH PRE-DEPOSITION SUBSTRATE ANNEALING

The orientation ratio (OR) of magnetic hard disks was modified through pre-deposition substrate annealing. This heat treatment leads to a mo dulation of the NiP surface chemistry which brought about a different CoCrTa film texture. Our studies verified the essential factors to obt aining OR>1, namely a non-oxidized NIP surface which established a (11 (2) over bar 0)CoCrTa film texture, substrate heating, and mechanical texturing. Parametric tests showed that disks with near unity OR have worse signal-to-noise ratio but possess better off track capability w hen tested under squeezed conditions.